///.  » 


THE   ROBERT   E.  COWAN  COLL  >N 

i-Kr.si.x  i  1:1  >  TO  TIII: 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

in 

C.  P.  HUNTINGTON 

:;NE, 


Accession  No   700  27       Class  No, 


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WONDER-WINGS,    MULLINGONGS, 
COLOSSI,    ETC 


BY 


CHARLES    FREDERICK   HOLDER 

•    Author  of 

THE    IVORY    KING,    LIVING    LIGHTS,    MARVELS    OF  ANIMAL    LIFE, 

ELEMENTS    OF   ZOOLOGY,    A    FROZEN    DRAGON, 

AND   OTHERS 


UNIVERSITY 


MANY  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 
J   CARTER   BEARD 


BOSTON 
D    LOTHROP    COMPANY 

FRANKLIN    AND    HAWLEY    STREETS 


COPYRIGHT,  1888 

BY 
D.  LOTHROP  COMPANY. 


OF 

TJNIVI 


PREFACE. 


THE  following  chapters  are  presented  with  the 
hope  that  they  may  arouse  an  interest  among 
young  people  in  Natural  History,  or  give  an  addi- 
tional zest  to  original  investigation  among  those 
who  are  already  students  in  the  great  out-door 
school  of  nature. 

C.  F.  H. 

PASADENA,  Los  ANGELES  Co.,  CAL. 
March,  1888. 


^N     7-ERSITY 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

WONDERFUL  FLYERS 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE   BIRDS   OF  THE   SEA 29 

CHAPTER   III. 

AMONG   THE  TURTLES 56 

CHAPTER   IV. 

IN   THE   CORAL  COUNTRY 83 

CHAPTER   V. 

HOMES   UNDERGROUND IOQ 

CHAPTER   VI. 

HOW   ANIMALS   PROTECT   THEMSELVES       .  .  .  138 

CHAPTER   VII. 

FEATHERED   SENTINELS      ....  .163 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

ANIMALS   AND   THEIR   FRIENDS  187 

CHAPTER   IX. 

ANIMALS    AND   THEIR   YOUNG 2O; 

CHAPTER   X. 

HOW   ANIMALS  TALK 232 

CHAPTER   XI. 

SPORTS   AND   GAMES    OF   ANIMALS      ....  259 

CHAPTER   XII. 

GIANTS, 285 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

FEATHERED   GIANTS 307 

• 

INDEX 325 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Restoration  of  the  extinct  Rhamphorhynchus  .          Frontis. 

The  Draco  volans     .  9 

The  climbing  perch 29 

Fish  and  nest 39 

Shower  of  fish  in  India 39 

The  Hydraspis          ...                  .  5^ 

A  turtle  race     .....•••  77 

Head  of  Chelys  matamata        .                          .  77 

Some  New  England  corals 83 

Coral  vases 93 

Hermit  crab  with  coral  growth                          .         •  93 

Head  of  the  star-nosed  mole    .                 ...  109 

The  gigantic  underground  rat,  Tien-shu  .         .         .  m 

A  novel  ferry-boat    .                                                     •  l$ 

Hand  of  sea-urchin  ...                          •  M9 

A  wonderful  leaper  ....  149 

The  guardians  of  the  moose     .                          .  163 

Faithful  sentinels      .         .                                   •  J73 

Living  honey-bottles         .                           ...  187 

Good  friends     .....»••  T95 

Koala  and  young 

A  watchful  lookout .217 


t  •  • 


Vlll  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

A  talking  bird 232 

Ants  conversing •  249 

A  talking  fish 249 

Attracting  fireflies 249 

Malayan  sun-bear     .......  259 

Animals  at  play 271 

Iguanodon  bernisstartensis       .....  286 

Head  of  four-horned  antelope  .....  291 

Hunting  the  Colossochelys       .         .         .         .  *      .  291 

Head  of  Iguanodon  acer  ......  291 

Skeleton  of  Dinornis  maxim  us          .         .         .         .  311 

Largest  bird's  nest  in  the  world        .         .         .         .  313 

Hunting  the  giant  of  the  Mauritius  ....  314 

Cave  men  capturing  the  Gastornis    .  .         .  315 

Skeleton  of  a  feathered  giant 319 


UNIVERSITY 


A   STRANGE   COMPANY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

OME  astrono- 
mers   assume 
that  the  planet 
Mars  is  inhabi- 
ted, there  being 
many  reasons 
for  believing 
this,    and    that 
owing  to  the  dif- 
ference   in  the 
force  of  gravity 
its   people   can 
jump  over  a  house  as  easily  as  we  make  an  or- 
dinary leap ;  hence  it  is  supposed  that  life  in  the 

9 


THE    DRACO    VOLANS. 


10  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

air  is  the  rule  on  Mars,  and  that  the  majority  of 
forms  there  are  provided  with  wings,  or  else  with 
some  substitute  adapting  them  to  what  would  ap- 
pear to  us  a  very  curious  condition  of  things. 

Some  of  the  animals  which  people  our  own 
planet  have  hollow  bones,  and  numerous  air-sacs, 
and  the  weight  of  their  bodies  is  reduced  to  the 
minimum,  so  that  they  leap  into  the  air  with  ease, 
their  fore-arms  being  modified  to  suit  aerial  prog- 
ress. Such  are  our  birds ;  and  there  are  many 
other  animals  which  to  a  greater  or  less  degree 
are  fliers,  though  moving  by  different  means. 

Some  of  the  earliest  and  most  remarkable  fliers 
were  not  birds,  but  reptiles;  huge  creatures,  stu- 
pendous and  uncanny.  It  has  been  known  for 
many  years  that  such  fliers  existed  in  the  early 
geologic  days ;  but  only  within  a  short  time  has  it 
been  understood  that  they  attained  such  gigan- 
tic dimensions.  Skeletons  of  Pterodactyls,  as  these 
flying  reptiles  are  called,  are  to  be  seen  in  many 
European  collections,  and  terrible  creatures  they 
must  have  been,  their  jaws  armed  with  sharp 
teeth  •,  but  through  the  exertions  of  Professor 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  II 

Marsh,  of  Yale  College,  vast  numbers  of  allied 
forms  have  been  discovered  in  our  Western  coun- 
try, which  range  in  size  from  a  snipe  up  to  gigan- 
tic fliers  having  a  spread  of  wings  twenty-two 
feet!  These  aerial  creatures  differed  from  the 
Old  World  forms  in  not  possessing  teeth ;  they 
probably  relied  upon  their  immense  size  to  terrify 
their  enemies. 

The  scene  in  North  America,  in  these  days,  can 
perhaps  be  imagined.  Flocks  of  these  strange 
bat-like  animals  with  long  extended  jaws,  and 
enormous  leathery  wings,  gathered  about  the  lakes 
of  the  time,  and  undoubtedly  dashed  into  the  clear 
waters  in  search  of  prey.  When  a  flock  left  their 
roosts  and  soared  away,  they  must  have  darkened 
the  earth  and  terrified  the  human  hunter,  did  he 
then  exist.  A  dozen,  each  with  a  spread  of 
twenty-two  feet,  flying  together,  must  have  pre- 
sented a  formidable  spectacle,  and  few  animals 
then  living  but  would  have  been  alarmed  at  their 
approach. 

While  the  Old  World  can  boast  of  no  flier  as 
large  as  our  Pteranodon,  it  had  some  which  were 


12  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

more  remarkable  in  structure,  and  more  grotesque 
in  appearance.  The  Rhamphorhynchus,  which 
stands  at  the  head,  was  discovered  some  years  ago 
in  the  slates  of  Germany,  and  is  remarkable  in 
being  the  only  specimen  ever  found  that  shows 
perfectly  preserved  the  membrane  of  the  wing. 
The  animal  possibly  died  and  fell  into  the  water, 
thus  becoming  covered  with  the  material  which  in 
intervening  ages  turned  to  slate  and  formed  its 
tomb.  Professor  Marsh  secured  the  specimen  for 
Yale  College,  and  it  stands  to-day  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  fliers  ever  discovered.  This  animal  had 
not  only  the  long  jaws  of  the  Pterodactyls,  and  the 
large  wings,  like  those  of  a  bat,  but  the  hind  legs 
were  connected  by  a  membrane  as  in  these  ani- 
mals, and  the  tail,  instead  of  being  short,  was 
nearly  if  not  quite  as  long  as  the  entire  body,  ter- 
minating at  its  tip  in  a  veritable  rudder,  with  which 
this  living  craft  guided  itself  through  the  air.  The 
tail,  separated  from  the  body  and  taken  individu- 
ally, would  look  like  an  ordinary  canoe  paddle, 
with  the  end  of  the  blade  rounded.  The  mem- 
brane of  this  rudder  was  supported  by  spine-like 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  13 

bones,  extending  on  either  side.  Its  appearance  in 
the  air  must  have  been  exceedingly  curious. 

At  the  present  day  there  are  no  reptiles  of  this 
kind  now  in  existence  ;  the  only  forms  resembling 

*> 

them  being  the  bats,  which  belong  to  the  mammals 
—  a  totally  different  class.  Their  wings  are  merely 
a  soft  delicate  membrane  stretched  from  the  fingers, 
which  are  elongated  for  the  purpose,  and  extend- 
ing from  them  to  the  hind  feet.  The  claw,  which 
represents  the  thumb,  does  duty  in  enabling  the  bat 
to  catch  hold  of  limbs  and  trees  when  it  alights, 
though  it  usually  depends  upon  its  feet  in  clinging, 
and  hangs  head  downward.  The  flight  of  bats  is 
extremely  noiseless.  Quite  recently,  when  spend- 
ing the  winter  months  in  the  Sierra  Madre  Moun- 
tains, a  large  long-eared  bat  obtained  entrance  into 
our  room,  and  though  whirling  about  with  great 
velocity  I  could  not  hear  the  faintest  sound  when 
it  was  in  mid-air,  the  only  evidence  of  its  presence 
being  the  wind  which  fanned  my  face  as  it  darted 
by.  Another  peculiarity  of  these  fliers  is  that  they 
seem  to  see  perfectly  in  the  most  intense  darkness, 
and  in  this  room  the  bat  never  struck  the  wall  except 


14  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

when  it  attempted  to  get  out ;  thus  showing  an  in- 
tuition which  is  remarkable ;  and  that  it  is  not  sight 
is  shown  by  a  series  of  experiments  which  were 
made  some  years  ago,  in  which  blind  bats  were  re- 
leased in  a  room  across  which  cords  had  been 
stretched,  and  which  they  did  not  touch  in  their 
passage. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting  of 
the  mammalial  fliers  is  the  flying  fox,  so  common  in 
some  of  the  islands  of  the  extreme  East.  It 
has  a  fox-like  head,  sharp  teeth  which  it  uses 
in  eating  fruit,  and  is  such  a  great  pest  that  in 
some  places  nets  have  to  be  placed  over  fruit- 
trees.  These  creatures  hang  to  the  limbs  of  trees 
like  bats,  and  in  this  position  would  be  taken  by 
strangers  for  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  so  much  do  they 
resemble  it. 

From  these  animals  which  have  a  wing-like  mem- 
brane stretched  from  elongated  fingers,  we  may  pass 
to  a  group  which  move  through  the  air  by  means  of 
a  parachute-like  arrangement —  a  membrane  which 
hangs  loosely  when  the  animal  is  at  rest,  but  when 
the  limbs  are  extended,  forms  a  veritable  parachute, 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  15 

connecting  the  space  from  the  wrist  of  the  fore-limbs 
to  the  ankle  of  the  hind  ones.  Our  common  fly- 
ing squirrel  is  a  familiar  example,  and  in  the  East 
there  are  many  large  and  interesting  forms  illus- 
trating this  curious  modification,  which  adapts  the 
little  creatures  to  a  semi-aerial  life. 

The  motion  of  these  so-called  flying  squirrels  is 
not  a  true  flight,  but  rather  the  action  of  a  parachute, 
as  they  cannot  raise  themselves  in  mid-air,  and 
the  movement  is  a  downward  one.  They  ascend 
to  the  tops  of  trees,  and  boldly  hurl  themselves 
into  space,  instinctively  holding  out  the  claws  which 
spreads  the  membranous  parachute  to  the  breeze. 
Thus  buoyed  up  they  glide  downward,  then  up  a 
few  feet,  alighting  upon  the  tree  which  was  the  ob- 
ject of  the  flight ;  then  quickly  mounting  it  to  again 
hurl  themselves  down.  In  this  way  long  journeys 
are  made  with  remarkable  celerity,  and  in  some  of 
the  large  Eastern  forms  flights  of  one  hundred  feet 
and  more  have  been  noticed.  Even  large  streams 
are  crossed  in  this  way ;  and  that  it  is  possible  for 
these  living  parachutes  to  change  their  direction  is 
shown  by  an  incident  which  occurred  aboard  a  ves- 


1 6  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

sel  where  a  pet  flying  squirrel  or  taguan  (Pteromys 
petanrista)  made  a  leap  from  the  top  mast  to  the 
deck.  At  the  same  moment  the  ship  rolled  heav- 
ily, and  the  passengers  expected  to  see  the  little 
animal  alight  in  the  water  ;  but  to  their  surprise  it 
turned  itself  by  a  convulsive  movement  and  sailed 
down  gently  to  the  deck  where  it  was  secured. 

A  very  remarkable  flier  is  found  in  the  islands  of 
the  East  Indian  archipelago,  and  is  known  as  the 
flying  lemur  or  Galeopithecus.  Not  only  are  its 
limbs  connected  by  a  membrane,  but  a  part  of 
the  tail  is  also  included,  as  in  the  bats.  The  side 
membranes  are  exceedingly  large,  and  the  animal 
can  take  a  long  leap  from  tree  to  tree,  not  only 
passing  safely,  but  also  carrying  its  little  ones, 
which  cling  to  it,  and  when  the  mother  walks 
about  find  ample  concealment  in  the  folds. 

Very  similar  in  its  methods  of  flight  is  the  beau- 
tiful lizard,  called  the  Draco  volans,  or  flying 
draco. 

This  charming  little  creature,  which  resembles 

in  the  air  some  brilliant  butterfly  or  gorgeous  in- 

'  sect  of  the  East,   is  only  about  a  foot  long,  and 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  17 

has  a  web-like  arrangement  on  each  side  which  is 
boomed  out  when  occasion  requires,  or  supported 
by  bones  called  false  ribs.  Like  the  flying  squir- 
rel it  darts  to  the  summit  of  lofty  trees,  and  boldly 
launches  itself,  sailing  gently  down,  supported  by 
the  curious  parachutes  which  so  act  against  grav- 
ity that  it  generally  alights  at  the  selected  place 
with  the  greatest  ease.  The  parachutes  are  not 
in  any  sense  used  as  wings ;  that  is,  there  is  no 
motion  up  and  down,  though  the  draco  takes  ex- 
traordinary leaps  into  the  air  after  insect  prey. 

The  appearance  of  a  group  of  these  lizards 
moving  through  the  air  is  indescribably  brilliant. 
Their  color  is  a  rich  pale  blue  on  the  back,  other 
parts  being  a  bluish-gray,  while  the  back  and  tail 
are  ornamented  with  many  transverse  dark  bands. 
The  so-called  wings,  which  are  of  course  very 
prominent  when  the  animal  is  moving,  are  marked 
in  black,  white  and  brown,  and  bordered  with  a 
white  line.  Many  different  species  are  known, 
some  of  them  being  disagreeable  in  their  aspect ; 
and  undoubtedly  from  them  the  old  writers  ob- 
tained their  inspiration  when  describing  the  drag- 


1 8  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

ons  which  the  brave  knight  had  to  conquer  before 
he  released  the  beautiful  maiden. 

Among  the  swimming  birds  we  notice  that  the 
toes  are  connected  by  a  web  which  presents  a 
broad  flat  surface  to  the  water,  open  only  when 
the  foot  is  pushed  back.  It  would  not  do  to  as- 
sume from  this  that  all  animals  with  webbed  toes 
were  swimmers,  as  we  find  in  the  island  of  Borneo 
a  little  tree-toad,  whose  toes  are  connected  by 
webs,  so  that  each  foot  is  a  parachute,  supporting 
the  creature  in  its  flights  from  tree  to  tree.  This 
curious  flier  was  discovered  by  the  naturalist  Wal- 
lace. He  was  walking  through  the  forest  when 
one  of  his  men  noticed  a  curious  object  sailing 
down  through  the  air  and  secured  it,  when  the 
naturalist  found  to  his  amazement  that  it  was  a 
veritable  flying-toad,  which  used  its  webbed  feet 
as  wings  to  transport  itself  from  one  tree  to  an- 
other. This  animal,  though  a  small  delicate  crea- 
ture, has  a  very  long  name,  Rhacophorus  volans. 

Some  years  ago  a  party  of  gentlemen  were  sit- 
ting in  the  cabin  of  a  vessel  bound  for  Cuba. 
They  had  passed  Cape  Florida,  and  were  speed- 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  19 

ing  through  the  warm  waters  of  the  Gulf  Stream, 
which  finds  an  outlet  between  Cuba  and  Key 
West.  The  party  were  gathered  about  a  table, 
one  of  them  reading  a  newspaper,  when  with  a 
crash  and  a  splutter  a  strange  body  darted  through 
it,  passing  by  his  face,  and  fell  with  a  thud  upon 
the  floor.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  gentlemen 
started  to  their  feet  in  astonishment,  and  it  was 
not  lessened  when  the  victim  held  up  his  torn 
paper,  and  a  moment  later  picked  up  from  the 
floor  a  fish  about  six  inches  long,  with  long  pec- 
toral or  side  fins,  and  a  hard-armored  head.  The 
fish  was  the  well-known  flying  gurnard,  common 
in  Southern  seas,  and  had  either  been  attracted 
by  the  light,  or  had  accidentally  dashed  through 
the  open  port. 

I  have  often  watched  these  beautiful  creatures 
darting  over  the  waters  of  the  Mexican  Gulf.  Par- 
ticularly where  the  great  patches  of  sea-weed  con- 
gregate they  are  numerous,  and  as  they  are  richly 
colored,  blue,  purple,  red,  and  yellow,  and  marbled 
with  striking  spots  and  bands  of  darker  hue,  they 
are  the  veritable  birds  of  this  ocean  summerland. 


20  WONDERFUL    FLlERSo 

We  do  not  wonder  that  they  can  fly  when  we  ex- 
amine their  fins,  as  the  side  ones  are  so  elongated 
that  they  are  comparatively  useless  in  the  water, 
the  tail  being  the  motor  there.  But  when  alarmed, 
or  in  play,  they  leap  from  the  water,  the  wing-like 
fins  are  spread,  and  they  dart  along,  using  them 
as  parachutes,  and  attaining  remarkable  distances. 
There  are  several  kinds  of  these  fliers,  one  quite 
common  about  New  York  harbor,  probably  find- 
ing farther  east  a  cousinship  with  the  quaint  and 
homely  gurnards  of  the  New  England  coast. 

The  several  species  of  flying  fishes  proper,  Ex- 
ocetus,  are  even  more  remarkable,  and  take  long 
flights,  some  that  I  have  observed  being  certainly 
one  eighth  of  a  mile.  They  are  frequently  seen 
bounding  from  the  waves  in  schools,  and  some- 
times the  wind  takes  them  and  they  are  hurled 
aboard  ships,  striking  the  sails,  and  falling  to  the 
deck.  They  are  beautiful  creatures,  though  dif- 
ferent from  the  gurnards.  The  latter  resemble 
some  gorgeous  insect,  in  their  gaudy  dress  and 
metallic  lustre,  while  the  Exocetus  has  a  garb  of 
shining  silver,  with  a  bluish  tint  upon  the  back, 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  21 

and  the    extended  wings  or  pectoral  fins,  which 
are  without  color,  look  like  lace. 

No  question  to-day  is  discussed  more  widely 
than  that  as  to  whether  the  flying  fish  is  an  actual 
flier  or  not,  and  an  army  of  observers  is  arrayed 
on  either  side.  I  have  seen  great  numbers  of 
them  in  Southern  waters,  and  consider  that  their 
flight  is  comparable  to  that  of  other  animals  which 
use  parachutes.  The  specimens  which  I  have 
observed  in  confinement  rarely  employed  fins, 
or  so-called  wings,  under  water,  the  tail  being 
the  principal  motive  power ;  and  I  think  that 
when  leaving  their  native  element  they  probably 
acquire  great  momentum  by  a  vigorous  movement 
of  this  organ.  I  noticed  that  when  once  above 
the  surface,  the  broad  fins,  extended  to  their  ut- 
most, were  held  at  such  an  angle  that  they  presented 
a  slight  resistance,  the  rush  of  air  tending  to  press 
them  up,  and  I  concluded  that  when  the  momentum 
was  exhausted  this  upward  pressure  became  relaxed, 
and  naturally  the  fish  fell  back  into  the  sea.  When 
the  wind  is  favorable  the  flights,  as  I  have  said, 
are  extremely  long.  Many  observers  state  that 


22  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

they  have  seen  the  fins  moved  up  and  down ;  but 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this  was  simply  the 
fluttering  of  the  wings  as  they  moved  quickly 
through  the  air.  The  advocates  of  this  flying 
theory  are,  I  think,  as  a  rule,  those  who  have  not 
examined  the  muscular  development  of  the  flying 
fish  which  seems  totally  inadequate  to  produce 
such  movement. 

While  in  no  sense  fliers,  there  are  a  number  of 
fishes  which  have  a  peculiar  habit  of  leaping  great 
distances  out  of  their  natural  element,  and  skim- 
ming along  over  the  surface.  Among  these  might 
be  mentioned  the  gars,  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
I  have  seen  them  dart  from  the  water,  and  move 
incredible  distances  by  merely  touching  it.  In 
the  South  Pacific  these  fishes,  or  their  allies,  at- 
tain a  large  size,  and  this  habit  is  then  a  danger- 
ous one  to  the  fishermen.  A  man-of-war's  crew 
were  rowing  ashore  once  in  this  vicinity,  when 
one  of  these  fishes  darted  from  the  water,  striking 
the  hat  of  an  officer,  and  knocking  it  from  his 
head.  Natives  are  sometimes  killed  in  this  way 
when  searching  after  shells  on  the  reef.  They 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  23 

alarm  the  fishes,  which  bound  away  blindly,  the 
sharp  arrow-like  beak  penetrating  the  person  like 
an  arrow.  A  friend  who  generally  spends  his 
winters  in  Southern  Florida  related  to  me  a  curi- 
ous experience  which  he  had  in  one  of  the  inlets. 
The  yacht  was  moving  slowly  along  up  a  stream 
which  was  quite  narrow,  and  was  seen  to  be  driv- 
ing a  school  of  fish  before  it.  Soon  one  of  them, 
a  pompino,  left  the  water,  and  with  a  bound 
cleared  the  rail,  and  striking  the  mainsail  landed 
upon  the  deck.  This  seemed  to  be  the  signal  for 
others,  for  they  now  began  to  leave  the  water  in 
great  numbers,  darting  in  every  direction.  In 
short,  the  yacht  was  bombarded  with  pompinoes, 
which  flew  over  it  and  upon  the  decks  in  such 
numbers  that  the  men  were  glad  to  take  refuge 
behind  the  rail  or  dodge  when  they  saw  them 
coming. 

The  true  fliers  are,  of  course,  the  birds.  In 
their  entire  structure,  the  hollow  bones,  the  air- 
sacs,  and  feathers,  we  see  an  adaptation  to  a  true 
aerial  existence,  and  in  some,  as  the  eagle,  the 
condor  and  others,  the  power  of  sustained  flight 


24  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

reaches  its  greatest  perfection.  The  birds  which 
spend  most  of  the  time  in  the  air  make  the  least 
exertion.  In  other  words,  they  depend  almost 
entirely  upon  soaring,  and  do  not  expend  their 
strength  upon  a  continued  flapping  of  the  wings. 
I  noticed  this  particularly  among  the  mountains  in 
Southern  California  where  buzzards  are  common, 
and  I  have  seen  these  birds  under  the  glass  and 
near  at  hand  moving  about,  rising  and  falling, 
now  swooping  into  the  canons,  then  rising  to 
great  heights  by  circling,  without  a  single  move- 
ment of  the  wing,  the  fore-limbs  being  perfectly 
rigid.  This  was  most  successful  when  there  was 
a  breeze ;  but  it  seemed  possible  at  any  time,  and 
it  was  rarely  that  a  buzzard  could  be  seen  moving 
its  wings  unless  near  the  ground ;  the  motion 
while  in  the  air  being  produced  by  pitching  down 
or  turning  the  body  to  either  side.  I  have  seen 
the  man-of-war  birds  remain  motionless  in  the  air, 
four  hundred  feet  up,  during  a  gale  of  wind,  and 
with  wings  outstretched  they  would  literally  rest 
on  the  wind ;  remaining  in  the  same  position  a 
long  time,  there  evidently  being  an  enjoyment  in 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  25 

it,  their  only  movement  as  observed  from  the  top 
of  a  lighthouse,  over  which  they  were  poising, 
being  an  occasional  pitching  down  and  subse- 
quent rising.  The  bird  might  be  compared  to  a 
kite,  gravity  being  the  string.  The  gale  strikes 
its  breast,  and  tends  to  blow  the  bird  before  it ; 
but  by  pitching  down  slightly  it  overcomes  this, 
and  so  remains  stationary.  This  explanation  may 
not  be  accepted  by  my  mathematical  or  philosoph- 
ical readers,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  other. 

Many  young  people  would  probably  be  aston- 
ished if  told  that  air  is  not  the  only  element  in 
which  flying  can  be  practised.  Flying  under 
water  is  not  only  a  possibility  but  a  fact,  and  the 
water  ouzel  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  all 
birds  in  this  respect.  Most  of  the  water  birds 
are  fitted  with  appliances  adapting  them  for  a 
marine  life  ;  but  the  water  ouzel  seems  to  have 
been  neglected,  as  it  has  no  webbed  feet,  and  is  as 
little  prepared  for  a  dive  as  a  robin  ;  yet  this  does 
not  deter  it  from  taking  submarine  voyages.  It  is 
generally  found  along  the  banks  of  rocky  streams, 
and,  curiously  enough,  seems  to  prefer  to  seek  its 


26  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

food  under  water,  boldly  plunging  in;  and  once 
under  it  actually  flies  along,  moving  its  wings  in 
the  water  just  as  it  does  in  the  air.  In  this  way 
the  little  flier  proceeds  along  the  bottom,  now 
flying,  now  walking,  hunting  for  the  worms  and 
shells  which  constitute  its  food. 

The  penguins  have  rudimentary  wings  which 
appear  like  fins,  and  are  used  as  such ;  the  illu- 
sion being  still  farther  carried  out  by  the  feathers 
which  are  so  small  that  they  might  readily  pass 
for  the  scales  of  fishes.  These  birds  spend  a 
greater  part  of  their  time  in  the  ocean,  and  in 
their  movements  under  water  greatly  resemble 
fishes.  They  cannot  fly  in  the  air,  but  they  have 
wings  perfectly  adapted  for  submarine  flying,  and 
assisted  by  their  powerful  webbed  feet  they  dart 
along  with  surprising  speed. 

There  are  many  wonderful  fliers  among  birds. 
One  in  very  early  times  had  a  tail  almost  as  re- 
markable as  that  of  the  Rhamphorhynchus.  It 
was  a  reptilian  bird,  and  perhaps  had  teeth  like 
some  curious-toothed  birds  discovered  by  Pro- 
fessor Marsh  in  our  Western  country.  Its  tail 


WONDERFUL    FLIERS.  27 

was  nearly  as  long  as  the  entire  body,  and  was  not 
of  feathers,  as  in  the  peacock,  but  of  bone,  as  in 
the  squirrels,  and  if  we  take  the  tail  of  our  com- 
mon flying  squirrel  and  imagine  feathers  instead 
of  the  hairs  which  grow  out  on  either  side  at  right 
angles,  we  may  form  some  idea  of  the  appearance 
of  the  caudal  extremity  of  the  archaeopteryx,  as 
this  ancient  Oolitic  bird  was  called. 

In  Southern  California,  in  February  and  March, 
the  sandhill  cranes  begin  to  migrate  north.  They 
are  heavy  birds,  and  I  could  not  but  notice  their 
method  of  saving  labor  and  fatigue  in  the  long 
flight.  They  literally  "  slid  down  hill  "  in  the  fol- 
lowing way:  Las  Casitas,  the  point  of  observation, 
was  on  the  slope  of  the  Sierra  Maclres,  above  the 
foot  of  the  range.  The  birds  evidently  left  the 
coast  opposite  Santa  Ana  Mountain,  some  dis- 
tance below  the  former  place,  and  there  followed 
the  range  up  north,  and  I  should  judge  that  in  six 
weeks  one  hundred  thousand  passed  overhead, 
and  as  I  knew  the  elevation,  they  were,  at  their 
highest  altitude,  a  mile  and  a  half  and  sometimes 
two  miles  above  the  sea.  Their  notes  even  at 


28  WONDERFUL    FLIERS. 

this  distance  could  be  distinctly  heard.  On  they 
would  come  ;  the  flock  of  from  one  hundred  to 
three  hundred  in  a  V  or  other  fantastic  shape  ;  as 
a  rule,  moving  at  a  slight  angle  downward,  hold- 
ing their  wings  rigid,  and  travelling  at  a  rate  of  a 
mile  in  seventy  seconds.  This  downward  motion 
would  bring  them  within  rifle-shot  of  the  valley, 
about  once  in  five  miles,  and  then  the  flock  would 
stop,  and  amid  a  loud  chorus  of  calls  begin  what 
was  literally  a  climbing  up  hill  manoeuvre,  wheel- 
ing and  circling  round  and  round  for  ten  to  twenty 
minutes,  during  which  the  flock  gradually  mounted 
upward,  high  above  the  tallest  snow  bank  of  the 
Sierras.  As  they  circled  higher  and  higher  their 
white  wings  would  glisten  like  silver  stars  from  a 
rocket,  now  disappearing,  now  flashing  in  the  sun- 
light. When  far  above  the  range  they  would  again 
assume  the  order  of  flight  and  bear  away  down 
hill  to  the  north.  This  movement  was  repeated 
again  and  again  until  their  summer  home  was 
reached,  many  hundred  miles  away. 


CHAPTER   II. 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

VEN  ordinary  ob- 
servers have  re- 
marked the  resem- 
blance of  fishes  to 
birds  which  is  so 
marked  that  they 
are  even  named 
after  them  ;  as  the 
snipe  and  parrot 

fishes.  It  is  in  the  southern  waters,  "  in  gulfs  en- 
chanted, where  the  siren  sings,  and  coral  reefs 
lie  bare,"  that  these  striking  similarities  can  best 
be  seen. 

There  the  water  is  clear  as  crystal,  so  that 
that  small  objects  can  be  observed  distinctly  fifty 
or  sixty  feet  from  the  surface ;  and  in  shallow 

29 


THE   CLIMBING    PERCH. 


30  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

water,  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  in  depth,  the   in- 
habitants seem  exhibited  as  in  an  aquarium. 

In  the  summer  months  in  the  tropics  there  are 
days  when  not  a  breath  of  wind  disturbs  the  glass- 
like  surface  of  the  ocean,  and  the  only  sounds  are 
the  occasional  splash  of  a  fish,  the  heavy  plunge  of 
a  pelican,  or  the  victorious  "  ha,  ha  !  "  of  the  laugh- 
ing gull.  On  such  days  I  have  drifted  over  the 
great  coral  reefs,  with  my  face  a  few  inches  from 
the  water,  watching  the  movements  of  the  finny 
bird-like  forms  below.  Some  poise  lightly  in  mid- 
water,  casting  their  eyes  up,  and  even  moving  for- 
ward to  see  what  the  dark  shadow  is  above,  while 
others  lurk  in  the  lanes  among  the  coral  branches. 

Among  the  most  attractive  and  curious  forms 
are  the  parrot-fishes  ;  so  called  because  instead  of 
having  small  teeth,  which  we  see  in  other  fishes, 
their  entire  dental  apparatus  seems  to  have  been 
fused  together,  forming  a  hard  and  large  pair  of 
bills,  or  mandibles,  calling  to  mind  the  beaks  of  a 
parrot.  With  this  pair  of  nippers  the  parrot-fishes 
can  crunch  the  ends  of  branch  coral,  bite  through 
large  shells  to  obtain  the  soft  interior,  and  prey 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  3! 

upon  various  animals  which  are  safe  from  the  at- 
tacks of  ordinary  fishes.  In  their  coloring  they 
also  vie  with  the  gorgeous  parrots,  and  as  in  the 
large  macaws  the  effect  is  startling.  Some  are  all 
blue  ;  others  have  a  variety  of  colors,  blue,  brown, 
and  green,  arranged,  in  stripes  or  in  remarkable  de- 
signs. The  parrot-fishes  are  found  in  nearly  all 
tropical  seas,  and  are  recognized  by  their  brilliant 
decorations,  Their  method  of  swimming  is  also 
peculiar.  The  tail-fin,  though  powerful  and  broad, 
is  not  much  used  except  when  the  fish  are  startled 
or  alarmed.  When  swimming  along,  the  side  or 
pectoral  fins  are  almost  entirely  used,  producing  a 
peculiar,  even,  gliding  motion. 

We  know  that  some  land  birds  often  take  to  the 
water,  the  duck,  penguin,  and  ouzel  being  exam- 
ples ;  so  the  "  birds  of  the  sea  "  sometimes  venture 
upon  land.  The  majority  of  fishes  make  such  pro- 
tests when  taken  from  the  water,  and  so  soon  die, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  a  fish  would 
willingly  thus  jeopardize  its  life  ;  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  it  is  only  certain  families  of  fishes 
which  do  it,  just  as  with  the  birds.  A  robin  or 


32  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

sparrow  would  be  drowned  quickly  in  the  centre 
of  a  pond,  while  a  duck  would  be  perfectly  at 
home.  So  a  stickleback  would  die  if  placed  on 
land,  while  some  of  the  gobies  would  not  mind  it 
in  the  least ;  having  with  various  other  fishes  cer- 
tain modifications  of  structure  that  enable  them  to 
exist  out  of  their  native  element. 

This  modification  consists  of  a  set  or  series  of 
cavities  that  are  no  more  or  less  than  air-store- 
houses, and  do  not  hold  water,  as  is  sometimes 
stated.  In  other  words,  when  on  shore  these 
fishes  breathe  air  directly,  and  when  in  the  water 
obtain  it  from  that  liquid. 

The  best-known  of  the  amphibious  fishes  is  the 
climbing  perch,  which  was  discovered  many  years 
ago  by  the  naturalist  Daldorf  in  India  climbing  a 
tree.  The  movements  of  these  fishes  on  land  are 
extremely  slow,  the  side  and  lower  fins  being  the 
organs  of  locomotion ;  by  moving  them  alter- 
nately and  with  great  deliberation  it  proceeds 
slowly  along. 

The  natives  of  India  have  long  been  familiar 
with  this  peculiarity  of  the  perch,  or  Anabas,  and 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  33 

they  esteem  them  greatly  for  the  market,  as  they 
can  be  carried  for  two  or  three  clays  in  a  dry 
basket  without  injury.  Undoubtedly  the  object  of 
their  leaving  the  water  is  to  avoid  the  drouth  that 
prevails  in  India  at  certain  seasons  when  the  water 
supply  fails.  Evaporation  soon  changes  the  pools 
into  dry  baked  mud  ;  and  at  the  first  intimation  of 
this  these  fishes  bestir  themselves,  and  often  a 
wonderful  scene  is  beheld ;  thousands  of  fishes 
crawling  up  out  of  the  pools  and  in  a  solid  phalanx 
struggling  over  the  grass,  and  by  some  wonderful 
instinct  heading  for  distant  water.  At  this  time 
they  are  subjected  to  many  dangers.  They  are 
particularly  defenceless,  and  various  predatory 
animals  prey  upon  them  ;  while  if  the  struggling 
throng  is  observed  by  a  passing  native  baskets  and 
other  vessels  are  brought,  and  the  unfortunates 
shovelled  and  thrown  in  without  ceremony. 

There  are  fishes  which  crawl  upon  dry  land  to 
feed,  as  the  ouzel  or  duck  takes  to  the  water  for 
food.  These  wonderful  creatures  are  found  in  the 
Fiji  Islands  and  on  various  shores  of  that  latitude, 
and  are  known  as  the  Boleophthalmus  and  Peri- 


34  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

ophthalmus.  These  long-named  fishes  themselves 
are  quite  small,  being  only  five  or  six  inches  in 
length,  with  large  heads,  prominent  curious,  mov- 
able eyes,  and  colored  a  deep  olive  hue.  I  know 
several  gentlemen  who  have  seen  these  quaint  am- 
phibians hopping  about  on  dry  land,  but  the  most 
remarkable  account  was  given  me  by  Col.  Nicholas 
Pike,  an  enthusiastic  naturalist,  and  late  consul 
at  the  island  of  Mauritius,  where  he  obtained 
many  valuable  specimens.  In  his  walks  upon 
the  beach  he  often  saw  the  Periophthalmi,  but 
they  were  too  nimble  for  him  to  catch ;  so  he 
adopted  the  novel  method  of  gunning  for  the 
fishes,  taking  those  which  he  desired  for  speci- 
mens with  a  rifle. 

The  gobies  of  the  Mauritius  and  Fiji  Islands 
spend  half  their  time  out  of  water ;  crawling  along 
by  using  their  powerful  arm-like  side  or  pectoral 
fins.  Once  upon  the  beach  they  progress  by  leap- 
ing, and  when  stationary  rest  with  the  head  ele- 
vated, ready  to  jump  like  a  frog  at  the  slightest 
warning.  The  rapidity  of  their  movements  may 
be  imagined  from  the  fact  that  it  is  difficult  for  a 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  35 

man  to   capture  them.     They  feed  upon   various 
small  crustaceans  found  upon  the  beach. 

In  our  own  country  we  find  several  fishes  which 
leave  the  water.  Even  our  common  eels  have  been 
seen  wandering  over  low  flats  near  their  ponds. 
Various  reasons  have  been  given  to  explain  this  «n- 
fishlike  proceeding,  but  it  is  my  opinion  that  they 
only  go  upon  dry  land  when  forced  to  for  some 
reason  unknown. 

On  our  southern  border,  on  the  coast  of  Texas, 
an  interesting  fish  is  found  named  Gobius  separator, 
which  is  the  most  persistent  little  fellow  imaginable. 
When  several  are  caught  and  placed  in  a  pail  or 
vessel,  they  immediately  proceed  to  escape.  Their 
lower  fins  are  powerful,  and  by  using  them  they 
crawl  up  the  sides  of  their  prison,  and  make  their 
way  back  to  the  water. 

Some  of  the  fishes  allied  to  the  Anabas  have 
such  a  habit  of  climbing  that  (according  to  Mr. 
E.  A.  Leyard)  in  a  Singalese  river,  the  fish  were 
kept  in  enclosures,  covered  with  matting  because 
they  persisted  in  climbing  out. 

The   presence  of  fish  underground  is   another 


36  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

surprising  fact.  In  Gambia  a  fish  called  the  Pro- 
topterus,  descends  in  the  dry  time  and  remains  in 
the  mud  of  the  banks  until  the  water  rises  or 
returns.  The  natives  in  many  parts  of  India 
literally  mine  for  the  torpid  fishes  which  thus 
sleep  away  the  dry  season.  An  English  officer 
reports  watching  the  natives  of  Kottiar  dig  out 
fishes  with  shovels  on  the  banks  of  the  Vergel 
River.  A  shovelful  of  firm  clay  was  lifted  up  and 
dropped  heavily,  when  the  fish,  which  were  from 
eight  to  twelve  inches  in  length,  would  be  dis- 
closed, extremely  lively  as  soon  as  the  sunlight 
struck  them.  Some  of  these  fishes  were  found  a 
foot  and  a  half  from  the  surface. 

We  find  other  fishes  living  in  hot  water.  At 
Kannea,  near  the  bay  of  Trincomalie,  are  some 
interesting  hot  springs  whose  temperature  varies 
at  different  seasons  from  85°  to  115°.  When  at 
the  latter  temperature  several  fishes  were  caught  — 
a  loche  (Corbetis  thermalis)  and  a  carp  (Nuria 
thcrmoicos)  were  also  taken  in  this  spring  where 
the  thermometer  indicated  114°  Fahr.  and  a  roach 
when  it  denoted  122°  Fahr.  Another  spring  at 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  37 

Pooree,  with  a  temperature  of  112°  Fahr.  also 
afforded  fish,  and  at  Manilla  when  the  tempera- 
ture was  187°;  while  Humboldt  records  hav- 
ing seen  live  fishes  thrown  from  a  volcano  in 
South  America,  the  water  about  them  being  210°, 
or  two  degrees  below  the  boiling  point.  Whether 
they  were  living  in  water  of  this  temperature  pre- 
vious to  being  ejected  was  of  course  impossible  to 
determine  ;  the  probability  is  that  they  came  from 
a  cooler  subterranean  river. 

The  birds  of  the  air  are  more  or  less  at  the 
mercy  of  the  wind.  During  their  migrations  they 
are  blown  long  distances  out  to  sea  and  are  lost. 
Almost  every  outgoing  steamer  forms  a  haven  of 
rest  for  many  lost  land  birds.  Remarkable  in- 
stances show  that  the  "birds  of  the  sea  "  are  also 
the  sport  of  the  wind.  Some  years  ago  a  party 
were  travelling  upon  elephants  in  India,  and  when 
near  the  town  of  Kallywar  they  were  overtaken  by 
a  terrific  storm.  It  being  in  the  month  of  July, 
the  time  for  floods,  they  were  afraid  to  camp,  and 
pressed  on  until  they  reached  the  neighborhood 
of  Rajkote.  But  the  storm  grew  more  severe, 


38  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

almost  blinding,  and  all  at  once  the  travellers 
became  aware  that  -something  besides  rain  was 
descending.  Heavy  objects  were  falling;  and  to 
their  astonishment  they  found  themselves  a  mo- 
ment later  in  a  veritable  shower  of  fishes  ;  living 
ones,  too,  that  fell  upon  them  and  the  elephants 
in  great  numbers,  sliding  off  into  the  grass,  and 
presenting  a  curious  spectacle. 

The  wind  is  the  secret  of  the  fish-shower. 
Large  bodies  of  fishes  in  shallow  water  are  caught 
up  by  a  passing  whirlwind,  borne  high  into  the  air, 
and  blown  along  with  the  gale,  finally  being  pre- 
cipitated on  to  tracts  perhaps  miles  distant  from 
the  locality  from  which  they  were  taken  up. 

In  almost  every  country  such  occurrences  have 
been  recorded.  Some  years  ago  a  British  regi- 
ment stationed  at  Meerut,  India,  was  out  at  drill 
when  fishes  began  to  fall,  and  were  caught  in 
great  numbers  by  the  men  and  officers  who  were 
much  astonished  at  the  sight.  A  short  time  later 
another  shower  occurred  at  Moradabad,  the  fish, 
a  cyprinus,  coming  down  in  quantities.  A  shower 
which  fell  in  the  Deccah-zillah,  India,  was  ob- 


OF  THK 

TJNIVE 


CALiFO- 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  41 

served  before  the  fishes  fell ;  the  spectators  think- 
ing the  dark  objects  in  the  air  flocks  of  birds. 
The  fishes  soon  began  to  descend,  and  in  some 
instances  were  quite  large.  The  singular  feature 
was  that  while  there  was  a  drizzle  there  was  no 
storm.  The  fish  had  evidently  been  carried  by  a 
powerful  upper  current.  All  were  dead,  and 
some  gave  evidence  of  having  been  so  for  some 
time,  being  mutilated  ;  as  if  they  had  been  pre- 
cipitated to  the  earth  and  caught  up  several  times. 
In  some  cases  the  fishes  have  been  found  alive ; 
having  been  whisked  up  so  quickly  and  deposited 
so  gently  that  they  were  not  injured.  Such  a 
shower  fell  in  1839,  not  far  from  Calcutta.  The 
fish  were  about  three  inches  in  length,  and  when 
the  storm  had  ceased  they  were  found  pattering 
and  frisking  about  on  the  grass.  These  did  not 
fall  promiscuously,  but  in  a  continuous  straight 
line  not  more  than  a  span  in  breadth.  The  dis- 
tances to  which  fishes  are  sometimes  carried  seems 
almost  incredible  ;  but  generally  they  are  precipi- 
tated a  mile  or  so  from  their  native  pond  or 
stream. 


42  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

To  return  to  our  comparisons  between  the  birds 
and  fishes,  we  find  that  the  latter  are  also  nest- 
builders.  True,  the  fish-mothers  that  display  solic- 
itude for  their  young  can  be  counted  on  the  fingers. 
But  if  the  mothers  lack  this  care,  the  fish-fathers 
have  an  unusual  amount,  and  assume  family  respon- 
sibilities. In  their  constructive  ability,  or  the 
instinct  which  prompts  them  to  erect  homes,  we 
see  striking  resemblances  to  the  birds.  The  long 
nest  in  the  gravel  of  the  salmon,  or  the  smaller 
one  of  the  trout  or  sun-fish  welt  compares  with 
the  sand  hollow  of  the  gull,  while  the  shapely 
structure  of  the  robin  or  sparrow  finds  a  proto- 
type in  the  nest  of  the  stickleback,  the  officious, 
bombastic  inhabitant  of  the  streams  of  both  con- 
tinents. 

It  is  the  male  stickleback  that  cares  for  the 
coming  young.  As  the  season  approaches  he 
assumes  a  gorgeous  garb  of  pink  or  red.  Now  if 
we  have  the  little  nest-builder  in  an  aquarium 
let  us  drop  a  napkin  ring  into  the  water,  suspend- 
ing it  from  a  string.  He  dashes  at  it,  biting  it 
with  ferocity  until  he  is  sure  it  is  not  an  enemy  ; 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  43 

then  the  strange  object  is  carefully  examined.  If 
we  have  attached  threads  or  bits  of  grass  to 
the  ring,  and  the  rest  of  the  aquarium  is  not  pro- 
vided with  them,  the  chances  are  that  he  will 
adopt  the  ring  as  the  foundation  of  the  future 
nest,  reminding  us  of  the  wren,  that  is  seen  at  the 
nesting  season  examining  the  nooks  and  corners 
about  the  yard.  Presently  we  see  him  (presuming 
him  to  be  the  Apeltes  quadracus)  devoting  great  at- 
tention to  the  grass  or  threads,  nosing  them  about 
and  pressing  his  body  against  them,  and  if  we 
could  approach  close  enough  we  should  see  that 
he  is  binding  the  threads  or  material  together  with 
a  delicate  silvery  thread  issuing  from  a  minute 
pore  in  the  lower  portion  of  his  body. 

Now  other  threads  and  grass  should  be  thrown 
into  the  aquarium,  just  as  you  provide  the  tame 
weaver-birds  with  string.  These  the  little  stickle- 
back will  collect  and  pile  upon  the  nest  within  the 
pendant  ring,  until  finally  the  nest  assumes  shape, 
half  or  entirely  filling  the  ring.  In  the  final 
touches,  the  little  builder  reminds  us  of  a  bobbin ; 
indeed  his  shape  is  not  unlike  one,  as  into  the 


44  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

nest  he  darts  head-first,  repeating  the  operation 
indefinitely  until  he  wriggles  through,  then  we 
have  a  ring  within  a  ring. 

Next  the  mother-fish  is  hunted  up  and  driven 
to  the  nest,  and  there  in  the  little  cavity  the  eggs 
are  laid.  Over  them  the  patient  father  now  takes 
his  stand,  holding  himself  steadily  in  position, 
and  fanning  them  gently  with  a  vibratory  motion 
of  his  fins,  thus  producing  the  requisite  aeration. 
If  he  was  pugnacious  at  first  he  now  is  positively 
mad;  darting  at  everything  that  can  be  possibly 
considered  an  enemy.  Place  a  hand  against  the 
glass,  and  the  thud  of  his  sharp  nose  is  heard  in 
a  vain  effort  to  get  through.  If  other  fishes  hap- 
pen to  be  in  the  tank  it  is  best  for  them  to  keep  a 
safe  distance,  for  no  matter  how  large,  the  proud 
stickleback-father  darts  at  them,  inflicting  dan- 
gerous wounds  with  his  sharp  dagger-like  spines, 
and  soon  putting  them  to  flight. 

Finally  this  careful  watchfulness  is  repaid  by 
the  appearance  of  the  little  ones,  which  the  sharp- 
est eyes  are  necessary  to  distinguish.  Now  the 
father's  attentions  are  redoubled,  and  every  mo- 


\-  '          ^  ^  y 

OF   THK 

DIVERSITY 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  45 

ment  is  taken  up  in  preventing  the  baby  stickle- 
backs from  straying.  I  have  seen  him  dart  at 
the  straggling  little  ones,  draw  them  into  his 
mouth,  and  then  violently  expel  or  shoot  them 
in  the  direction  of  the  nest.  But  the  older  they 
grow  the  farther  they  wander,  and  finally  the  dis- 
tracted parent  gives  it  up  and  deserts  them,  and 
the  nest  soon  becomes  a  moss-covered  ruin,  the 
resort  of  shells  and  other  quiet  loving  creatures. 

There  are  several  species  of  sticklebacks  in  this 
country  and  Europe ;  some  large,  and  others  small, 
and  they  are  far  more  interesting  for  the  aquarium 
than  the  solemn  gold  fish,  whose  only  attributes 
are  its  beauty  and  the  fact  that  it  is  the  everlast- 
ing among  fishes,  sometimes  attaining  the  age  of 
a  century. 

While  the  resemblance  is  perhaps  not  a  strict 
one,  the  nest  of  the  little  South  American  Serra- 
salmo  calls  to  mind  the  swinging  home  of  the  oriole. 
The  rivers  of  South  America  are  often  lined  with 
a  dense  growth  of  verdure.  Palms  and  other  trop' 
ical  trees  often  bend  far  over  the  water,  cast- 
ing a  welcome  shade  for  the  fishes.  These  palms 


46  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

are  sometimes  encircled  and  connected  by  innu- 
merable vines,  or  Hanes^  which  wind  in  and  out, 
binding  the  vast  forests  in  a  perfect  maze.  As  the 
vines  climb  the  palms  and  reach  out,  they  con- 
tinue to  grow  until  they  drop  down  in  long  ropes 
into  the  water.  The  end  which  dangles  in  the 
current  throws  out  numerous  shoots  and  roots, 
which  soon  form  the  lodging  place  of  floating 
matter  from  up  stream,  so  that  in  the  course  of 
time  we  see  attached  to  the  vine  a  miniature 
island  blooming  with  flowers  grown  from  seeds 
that  in  turn  throw  out  roots  themselves.  This 
arbor  catches  the  eye  of  the  little  fish,  and  is  con- 
verted into  a  nest  and  nursery.  In  among  the 
roots  of  the  floating  bower  the  eggs  are  laid,  the 
parent  fish  taking  its  position  beneath  to  guard 
the  spot.  When  the  young  appear  they  find  refuge 
for  some  time  among  the  roots  and  stems,  where 
no  other  fish  would  suspect  their  presence. 

In  the  East  there  is  a  remarkable  bird  called 
the  Megapodius,  which  heaps  up  enormous  piles  of 
material  in  which  its  eggs  are  deposited.  Some 
of  the  penguins  and  other  water  birds  roll  pebbles 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  47 

and  stones  together  as  a  protection  for  their  eggs. 
Is  there  not  a  finny  bird  of  the  sea  or  river  that 
has  a  similar  habit  ?  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
such  an  one  a  few  years  ago  on  the  beautiful  St. 
Lawrence.  In  rowing  along  in  the  little  bay  in 
the  southern  portion  of  Westminster  Island  I 
noticed  on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  rift  a  pile  of 
pebbles  and  stones  that  must  have  been  nearly  a 
cartful.  They  looked  as  if  a  tip  cart  had  backed 
and  dumped  them  on  the  edge  of  the  little  chan- 
nel for  some  definite  purpose.  So  artificial  was  it 
in  appearance  that  we  concluded  it  was  a  lot  of 
clinkers  which  had  been  thrown  from  a  steamer 
or  that  some  small  boat  had  here  cast  over  a  load 
of  ballast.  Several  days  later  in  rowing  along 
shore  just  at  the  entrance  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Isles,  opposite  Westminster  Park,  I  came  upon 
three  or  four  similar  heaps,  in  shoal  water.  One 
of  them  was  about  ten  feet  in  circumference  and 
three  or  four  feet  high,  approaching  to  within  a 
foot  of  the  surface,  so  that  I  readily  reached 
some  of  the  top  pebbles.  There  were  thousands 
of  stones,  and  I  estimated  that  the  largest  heap 


48  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE   SEA. 

must  have  weighed  nearly  .a  ton,  some  of  the 
stones  that  I  secured  weighing  two  ounces,  while 
others  at  the  bottom  were  nearly  twice  as  large. 

These  curious  heaps  were  the  nests  of  fishes, 
and  along  the  sandy  and  gravelly  shores  of  the 
Thousand  Islands  I  found  many  more,  telling  of 
the  perseverance  and  industry  of  the  builders. 

These  nests  are  known  to  the  St.  Lawrence 
oarsmen  as  "chub  heaps,"  and  the  chub,  or  scien- 
tifically Semotilus  bularis,  is  the  builder.  I  was 
fortunate  in  finding  the  nests  in  all  stages  of  con- 
struction, from  a  mere  outline  to  the  complete 
nest  that  undoubtedly  took  several  seasons  to 
build.  The  newly  begun  nests  seemed  to  show 
a  plan  of  construction ;  thus  the  stones  were 
dropped  in  a  rude  circle  at  first,  as  if  the  finny 
architects  outlined  the  work  before  carrying  out 
the  design.  The  nest  is  made  by  one  or  more 
chubs,  each  stone  being  brought  in  the  mouth 
and  dropped  in  the  selected  place  until  it  assumes 
large  proportions,  the  pile  sometimes  being  high 
enough  to  stop  a  boat.  How  such  a  heap  of 
stones  can  be  used  as  a  nest  would  seem  an 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  49 

enigma,  but  the  rocky  castle  contains  innumer- 
able nooks,  corners  and  crevices  in  which  the 
eggs  and  young  rind  refuge  from  the  cat  fish, 
perch,  and  other  forms  which  prey  upon  them ; 
the  eggs  being  deposited  on  the  nest,  the  current 
washing  them  into  the  various  "  snug  harbors." 

The  class  of  fishes  which  resemble  the  robins 
and  thrushes  in  the  construction  of  their  nests, 
may  be  still  further  illustrated  by  a  quaint  little 
fish  known  as  the  Antennarius,  which  is  found 
floating  in  the  great  masses  of  sargassum  or  gulf 
weed  of  Southern  waters.  Their  nests  are  com- 
posed of  the  weed  among  which  they  lie,  and  when 
complete  resembles  a  small  football.  The  fish  so 
mimics  the  weed  in  color,  and  indeed  shape,  that 
I  have  had  them  drifting  under  my  eyes  for  sev- 
eral moments  without  distinguishing  them.  As  a 
rule,  they  lie  in  the  thickest  part  of  the  weed  upon 
their  sides,  and  when  swimming  upright  present 
a  curious  appearance,  some  species  seeming  to 
have  actual  limbs ;  indeed  one  species  is  called 
the  walking-fish.  The  nest  is  made  by  taking  bits 
of  weed  in  its  mouth  and  collecting  them  together, 


5°  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

binding  them  in  the  desired  shape  with  gelatinous 
threads  probably  taken  from  some  pore,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  stickleback.  -  Be  this  as  it  may  the  ball 
is  held  closely  together,  and  the  minute  white  eggs 
are  attached  to  the  leaves  and  various  parts,  and 
in  the  lanes  and  cavities  of  the  interior  the  young 
find  security. 

Among  the  interesting  nest-builders  of  Eastern 
waters  is  a  slender  fresh-water  fish  known  as  the 
Ophiocephalus.  It  collects  bits  of  weed  and  grass 
and  binds  them  together,  among  which  the  eggs 
are  deposited.  This  fish,  like  the  Jittle  stickle- 
back, takes  its  young  in  its  mouth  when  clanger 
approaches,  and  holds  them  there. 

But  perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  bird-like 
builder  is  the  famous  Gourami  of  the  East  which 
sometimes  attains  a  length  of  five  or  six  feet. 
At  the  nesting-time  these  fishes  pair  off  and  join 
forces  in  forming  a  nest,  generally  utilizing  a 
grass  known  as  Panicum  jumentorum.  As  a  rule 
the  nest  is  erected  on  the  bottom,  but  if  the  build- 
ers are  provided  with  the  limb  of  a  tree  or  a 
branch  the  nest  will  be  placed  in  it,  so  that  in 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  51 

this  respect  it  has  a  striking  resemblance  to  that 
of  the  birds.  The  blades  of  grass  are  rudely 
woven  in  and  out,  fastened  together  with  mud 
and  in  various  ways  until  a  solid  compact  nest 
is  the  result,  in  the  interstices  of  which  the  eggs 
find  a  resting  place  and  the  young  are  ensured 
protection. 

The  care  and  vigilance  exhibited  by  a  few  par- 
ent fishes  at  this  time  is  remarkable.  I  noticed 
one  day  at  the  Thousand  Islands  that  a  sun-fish 
had  taken  up  its  stand  directly  in  front  of  the 
place  where  I  hauled  my  boat  in  and  pushed  it 
out  a  number  of  times  a  day ;  but  neither  the 
noise  nor  my  presence  seemed  to  trouble  it,  and 
when  my  hand  was  reached  down  it  merely  moved 
away,  assuming  a  pugnacious  attitude  by  suddenly 
elevating  its  dorsal  fin  just  as  a  cat  does  her  tail ; 
and  if  the  tip  of  my  rod  was  extended  the  little 
guardian  would  dart  at  it  and  actually  refuse  to 
be  pushed  aside.  So  pugnacious  was  this  fish 
that  it  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  all  who 
came  to  the  boat-house.  It  invariably  poised 
about  three  inches  from  the  bottom,  its  head  to 


52  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

the  shore  ;  continually  moving  its  fins  in  such  a 
way  that  a  current  was  created  that  swept  the 
locality  clear  but  did  not  affect  its  position. 
The  meaning  of  all  this  was  that  a  family  of 
sun-fishes  occupied  the  hollow,  and  the  father 
was  on  guard  to  drive  away  enemies.  The  mate,, 
presumably,  was  not  far  off,  as  I  often  saw  it 
just  under  the  float,  but  at  the  slightest  advance 
toward  the  nest  the  guardian  would  rush  at  it 
with  dorsal  erect  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  eyes  flash- 
ing. Other  fishes  received  the  same  treatment, 
and  for  many  days  this  little  sentinel  defied  both 
man  and  fish,  only  giving  up  the  post  when  the 
little  ones  appeared  and  strayed  away. 

In  their  motions  the  fishes  remind  us  of  the 
birds.  Especially  is  this  noticeable  in  the  rays 
of  the  South,  where  the  stingaree  and  whiparee, 
as  they  are  there  called,  are  common.  These 
fishes  are  flat,  almost  triangular  in  shape,  the  pec- 
toral fins  being  represented  by  side  or  lateral 
prolongations  that  not  only  appear  like  wings, 
but  resemble  them  in  motion.  As  the  stingaree 
glides  along  the  side  fins  are  seen  to  move  up  and 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  53 

down,  and  as  the  upper  side  is  dark,  and  the  lower 
pure  white,  each  motion  seems  to  cause  a  flash  of 
light,  reminding  one  of  the  soaring  of  certain 
birds,  as  the  sand  hill  cranes,  which  when  whirling 
about  and  turning  back  to  the  sun  seem  like  a 
galaxy  of  silvery  stars  against  the  sky. 

The  fishes  present  the  greatest  contrast,  as  do 
the  birds,  in  their  movements.  Some  are  always 
soaring,  or  at  the  surface  of  the  water.  Such  are 
the  gar-fishes  of  the  South.  I  have  watched  scores 
of  them,  and  had  them  under  observation  for 
many  consecutive  hours,  but  never  saw  one  leave 
the  surface  beyond  several  inches  in  chase  of  some 
smaller  fish,  and  then  it  was  to  return  immediately. 
They  may  be  compared  to  the  swallows  which  are 
nearly  always  on  the  wing. 

Quite  the  reverse  are  the  flounders  and  their 
allies.  Who  ever  saw  one  swimming  about  in 
open  water  ?  One  would  as  soon  expect  to  see  a 
quail  or  domestic  fowl  soaring  a  mile  up  in  the 
air.  They  are  the  ground-birds  of  the  sea,  and 
in  all  salt-water  aquariums  the  flounder  should 
have  a  place,  not  for  its  beauty,  perhaps,  though 


54  THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA. 

it  has  eyes  like  veritable  gems,  and  capable  of  the 
most  astonishing  movement.  But  the  chief  in- 
terest about  these  little  flat  fishes  is  that  they 
persist  in  lying  upon  their  sides,  and  that  nature 
makes  a  remarkable  attempt  to  enable  them  to  do 
so  with  ease.  To  understand  this  thoroughly  we 
should  have  several  flounders,  representing  differ- 
ent ages  -  -  or  stages  of  growth.  Taking  an  in- 
fantile one  we  shall  rind  that  it  is  not  disposed  to 
be  a  flat  fish ;  but  swims  about  after  the  fashion 
of  fishes  in  general,  not  confining  itself  to  the 
bottom.  This  continues  for  some  time,  until  sud- 
denly the  fish  shows  an  inclination  to  sink  to  the 
bottom  and  lie  upon  its  side.  This  habit  seems 
to  grow  upon  the  flounder  with  astonishing  results. 
For  all  this  time,  it  must  be  remembered,  the 
flounder  has  had  the  general  shape  of  ordinary 
fishes,  and  an  eye  upon  each  side ;  but  as  this 
habit  of  lying  down  continues  to  grow,  it  is  evident 
that  one  eye  must  fare  badly  —  not  only  from  be- 
ing rubbed  against  the  sand,  but  being  deprived  of 
its  exercise  as  an  organ  of  sight.  But  Nature  ob- 
jects to  useless  members,  and  if  we  watch  the  little 


THE    BIRDS    OF    THE    SEA.  55 

flounder  we  shall  see  wonderful  changes.  First 
the  mouth  is  attaining  a  remarkable  twist;  then 
the  underneath  eye  is  seen  to  have  altered  its 
position,  and,  finally,  it  moves  around,  so  that  in 
the  adult  flounder  as  we  see  it  in  the  market,  the 
eye  is  quite  near  the  other,  both  being  on  one  side 
of  the  fish  and  of  equal  use.  The  mouth  is  also 
twisted  to  suit  the  new  position.  The  entire  modi- 
fication as  it  is  termed  presents  a  curious  in- 
stance of  the  effect  of  habit  upon  animals. 


CHAPTER   III. 


THE    HYDRASPIS. 


AMONG   THE    TURTLES. 

PEC  I M  ENS  of  the 

leather-back  tur- 
tle, Sphargis  cori- 
acea,  the  largest  of 
this  interesting 
group  of  animals, 
have  been  caught 
which  weighed 

nearly  two  thousand  pounds,  and  had  a  length  of 
eight  feet.  Several  have  been  captured  off  the 
New  England  coast,  one  at  Lynn  some  years  ago, 
while  others  have  been  observed  in  the  Bahama 
Islands,  on  the  coast  of  Burmah,  and  in  various 
localities.  In  fact,  this  king  of  turtles  is  a  great 
wanderer,  having  a  wide  and  extended  geograph- 
ical range ;  yet  comparatively  little  is  known  of  its 

56 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  57 

habits,  except  that  its  home  seems  in  the  open 
sea. 

The  strength  of  these  huge  creatures  has  been 
often  tested.  One  that  was  discovered  landing 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ye  River,  in  Burmah,  several 
years  ago,  dragged  six  men  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, and  would  have  carried  them  into  the 
water  and  escaped,  had  they  not  been  reinforced ; 
finally  the  men  conquered  the  animal,  which  was 
found  to  measure  over  six  feet  in  length.  This 
turtle  had  probably  landed  to  deposit  her  eggs. 

A  number  of  years  ago  the  inhabitants  of  a 
little  seaport  on  the  island  of  Jamaica  were  greatly 
excited  over  the  tracks  of  an  enormous  turtle  found 
upon  the  beach  one  morning.  The  trail  was 
followed  up  and  a  nest  found  that  was  four 
feet  deep,  and  contained  five  or  six  dozen  eggs. 
Watch  was  kept,  and  a  few  days  later  the  great 
turtle  was  caught  about  one  hundred  feet  above 
the  water.  She  hauled  ten  men  some  distance, 
and  it  finally  took  twelve  lusty  fishermen  to  turn 
her  on  her  back.  She  was  even  larger  than  the 
first-mentioned  turtle,  measuring  six  feet  six  inches 


58  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

in  length,  and  from  the  tip  of  one  fore-fin  across 
to  that  of  the  other  nine  feet  two  inches.  Speci- 
mens eight  feet  in  length  have  been  found,  weigh- 
ing twenty-two  hundred  pounds,  so  it  is  evident 
that  the  leather-back  may  be  considered  the  king 
of  turtles. 

The  turtles  with  which  we  are  familiar  have,  as 
a  rule,  definite  scales,  but  the  leather-back  turtle 
has  a  peculiar  shell,  which  is  probably  the  reason 
many  persons  believe  it  to  be  something  else  than 
a  turtle.  Standing  upon  its  back  and  looking 
down,  the  shell  appears  to  have  a  depressed  top 
shape  ;  the  back  is  entirely  destitute  of  scales  and 
of  a  leathery  structure,  elevated  into  parallel  ridges, 
The  fore-flippers  are  extremely  long  and  powerful ; 
the  bill  sharply  barbed ;  the  eyes  nearly  vertical ; 
so  that  our  huge  turtle  offers  quite  a  contrast  to 
its  cousins. 

Some  interesting  features  are  presented  by  tur- 
tles. They  differ  greately  from  all  other  animals. 

• 

They  are  enclosed  in  a  shell,  into  which  many 
withdraw  entirely.  If  we  examine  one  we  see 
that  it  has  two  distinct  shells  ;  the  upper,  or  car- 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  59 

apace,  and  lower,  or  plastron,  which  united  form 
the  box  or  house  in  which  the  animal  lives.  The 
backbone,  or  vertebra,  is  joined  firmly  to  the 
upper  shell,  consequently  has  not  the  flexibility 
seen  in  other  animals.  The  ribs  also  are  im- 
movable, and  the  carapace,  or  upper  protecting 
shell,  is  really  formed  by  the  widening  of  these 
bones.  In  the  mouth  of  the  turtle  we  find  two 
horny  beaks  in  the  place  of  teeth  so  that  they  nip 
and  crush,  instead  of  cutting  their  food.  Their 
eyesight  is  acute,  these  organs  having  a  third  lid, 
or  what  is  called  a  nictitating  membrane.  In 
America,  north  of  Mexico,  we  have  about  forty 
species  of  these  interesting  animals,  and  they 
are  found  in  almost  every  country  that  will  sup- 
port life. 

From  their  great  size,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
marine  turtles  attract  the  most  attention,  and 
ranking  next  to  the  leather  turtle  described  are 
the  loggerhead,  Thalassochelys  caouana,  green, 
Chelonia  mydas,  and  hawk-bill,  Eretmochelys  im- 
bricata,  all  more  or  less  important  in  commerce. 
These  forms  are  rarely  seen  north  of  Florida,  and 


60  AMONG   THE   TURTLES. 

in  the  waters  of  the  islands  about  Bahama  and 
farther  south  they  make  their  home. 

The  loggerhead  resembles  the  green  turtle,  but 
is  larger  and  more  powerful,  and  ranks  far  below 
it  as  an  article  of  food.  In  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
they  frequent  Loggerhead  Key  —  an  island  about  a 
mile  long,  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  Florida  reef. 
Why  the  turtles  choose  this  island,  among  a  group 
of  six  or  seven,  is  difficult  to  tell ;  but  the  fact 
remains  that  in  the  turtle-season  loggerheads  land 
on  this  Key  in  great  numbers,  while  certain  other 
Keys  are  only  used  by  the  green  turtle.  This  may 
not  be  the  rule,  but  was  so  nearly  so  that  during 
a  long  residence  near  this  island  I  never  found 
but  one  loggerhead  nest  away  from  Loggerhead 
Key. 

The  turtle  time  in  the  Southern  country  is  one 
of  considerable  activity.  Turtle-turning  is  con- 
sidered quite  a  sport,  and  one  involving  no  little 
exercise,  as  I  have  demonstrated  on  many  a  hard- 
fought  field.  Two  methods  of  taking  turtles  are 
in  vogue  :  one  by  what  is  known  as  the  peg,  and 
the  other  by  "  turning."  In  the  former  the  turtler 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  6 1 

goes  out  in  a  small  boat,  armed  with  a  long  slen- 
der polls,  upon  the  end  of  which  is  a  three-sided 
peg.  This  is  hurled  into  a  sleeping  turtle,  suction 
preventing  it  from  tearing  out,  at  the  same  time 
no  injury  ensuing.  The  other  plan  is  to  watch 
for  the  turtles  on  the  beach  as  they  come  up  to 
lay,  and  here  the  animals  have  fair  play.  A  moon- 
light night  is  selected,  and  after  landing  on  the 
Key  the  boat  is  concealed  if  possible,  or  hauled 
up  so  that  there  will  be  nothing  to  alarm  the 
game,  as  they  are  wary  and  suspicious. 

The  beaches  on  the  Bahama  Islands  are  of 
pure  white  sand,  made  up  of  coral  rock,  bits  of 
shell  and  lime-secreting  algae  ;  so  the  smallest  ob- 
jects can  be  seen  some  distance.  The  beaches 
from  the  water  to  the  bush-line  are  generally  about 
one  hundred  feet,  and  up  near  the  mangroves  or 
bay-cedars,  the  turtle-hunters  take  their  places, 
in  parties  of  two  or  more,  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  apart.  I  have  often  joined  in  these  hunts, 
when  sport  and  pleasure  was  not  always  the  incen- 
tive, as  turtle  meat  took  the  place  of  beef,  which 
was  not  to  be  had.  The  nights  chosen  for  this 


62  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

purpose  were  perfectly  still,  not  a  breath  disturb- 
ing the  glassy  surface  of  the  ocean,  an  occasional 
cry  of  some  gull  upon  the  reef,  the  splash  of  a 
shark  or  other  large  fish,  and  the  musical  trill  of 
the  water  as  it  broke  upon  the  beach  being  the  only 
sounds  heard.  Up  near  the  bush  we  lay,  watch- 
ing the  spirit  and  soldier  crabs  while  waiting  for 
the  moon,  for  it  is  a  popular  superstition  among 
the  wreckers  and  fishermen  that  the  turtles  will 
not  rise  until  the  moon  appears.  Finally  a  dim 
nebulous  light  mysteriously  pervades  the  sky,  as 
if  day  were  returning.  Brighter  it  becomes,  and 
fainter  grow  the  stars.  The  southern  cross  fades 
perceptibly  before  this  new  glory,  and  finally,  out 
of  the  depths  the  silvery  moon  rises,  transforming 
this  summerland ;  chasing  away  the  deep  shadows, 
and  converting  darkness  into  light.  Now  comes 
the  time  of  action,  and  soon  from  each  little  group 
a  turtler  now  and  then  starts  rapidly  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  and  runs  swiftly  along ;  looking  not 
for  the  turtle  but  for  its  tracks.  On  he  goes,  then 
suddenly  stopping  before  two  irregular  parallel 
lines  that  lead  directly  from  the  water  toward 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  63 

the  bush,  he  gives  a  whistle,  and  runs  quickly  up 
the  trail  that  brings  him  to  a  fine  old  turtle  who 
has  commenced  to  dig  her  nest,  but  now  seeing 
her  enemy  turns  to  regain  the  sea.  The  finder 
seizes  her  by  the  side,  and  in  attempting  to  lift 
her,  receives  a  cloud  of  sand  in  the  face  and  is 
partly  thrown  over.  She  is  too  heavy  to  manage 
alone,  and  makes  desperate  struggles  for  liberty. 
How  the  sand  flies !  and  how  slow  the  others  are 
in  coming !  The  turtler  places  himself  in  front 
of  her,  and  bars  her  progress  with  a  stick  ;  but  the 
welcome  water  is  near,  and  just  as  she  has  dragged 
her  enemy  to  the  very  edge  help  comes.  Two 
seize  her  by  one  side,  while  another  hauls,  pulls, 
and  strains,  now  all  together,  and  amid  the  flying 
sand  and  vigorous  blows  from  her  sharp  flippers 
the  turtle  is  toppled  over  upon  her  back  helpless, 
while  the  captors  drop  upon  the  sand  to  recruit  for 
the  next  one  that  may  appear.  If  not  too  heavy 
the  prize  is  hauled  well  above  the  water,  and  the 
party  soon  resume  their  positions  near  the  bush, 
and  send  out  another  sentinel.  In  this  way  a 
number  of  turtles  are  often  caught,  and  I  have 


64  AMONG   THE   TURTLES. 

sometimes  gone  home  in  the  morning  with  five  or 
six,  green  and  loggerhead.  The  largest  that  ever 
fell  to  my  lot  was  a  loggerhead  that  resisted  three 
men,  and  finding  that  she  was  taking  us  into  the 
water  one  of  the  party  brought  a  piece  of  timber 
which  was  placed  beneath  her,  and  with  this  as  a 
lever  we  landed  her  upon  her  back.  This  was  an 
extremely  old  loggerhead,  and  totally  useless  as 
food. 

The  turtles  as  soon  as  caught  are  carried  to 
certain  fenced  enclosures  near  the  shore  called 
"  crawls  "  —  places  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet 
in  shallow  water  —  where  they  are  kept  until  re- 
quired, then  shipped  in  small  vessels  perhaps  to 
Nassau,  and  finally  to  New  York. 

The  "  turtle-crawls  "  are  always  a  source  of  at- 
traction to  the  youth  of  the  Bahama  and  other 
islands,  and  when  a  turtle  is  to  be  caught  there  are 
many  volunteers ;  this  being  ranked  among  the 
chief  sports  of  the  reef.  At  the  word  the  young 
turtlers  enter  the  water,  and  swim  cautiously  up 
the  crawl.  Ordinarily  many  of  the  animals  will 
be  found  asleep  on  the  bottom,  only  rising  occa- 


AMONG   THE    TURTLES.  65 

sionally  to  breathe.  Toward  the  sleeping  reptile 
the  young  swimmers  move,  and  when  sighted  they 
dive  quickly,  and  by  a  rapid  movement  the  animal 
is  grasped  by  the  shell  just  over  the  head.  The 
moment  the  turtle  feels  the  diver  upon  its  back, 
its  powerful  flippers  wildly  strike  the  bottom ;  then 
rising  to  the  surface,  it  takes  a  single  breath,  and 
away  it  goes,  towing  the  rider,  now  under,  now  at 
the  surface,  in  a  wild  race  up  the  crawl;  then 
turning  to  dash  down  again,  creating  big  waves, 
meeting  other  riders  perhaps  on  the  way,  all  car- 
ried away  by  the  excitement  of  the  chase.  In 
this  way  I  have  often  been  towed  for  long  dis- 
tances, and  can  certify  to  the  exciting  nature  of 
the  sport. 

To  the  uninitiated  turtle-riding  is  not  pleasant, 
as  if  the  animal  is  a  large  one  it  will  succeed  in 
keeping  its  enemy  under  water  at  least  two  thirds 
of  the  time,  and  finally  wash  or  drown  him  off. 
The  secret  of  riding  is  to  stretch  out  behind,  grasp 
the  animal's  shell  as  indicated  by  both  hands,  and 
raise  the  head  up,  presenting  the  chest  to  the 
water.  This  movement  invariably  acts  as  a  rud- 


66  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

der  and  forces  the  turtle  to  the  surface  ;  then  the 
rider  can  if  he  wishes  lower  himself  and  take  a 
header  with  the  flying  animal. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  the  animal  would  re- 
sent this  treatment ;  but  I  never  saw  one  attempt 
to  bite  unless  teased.  The  loggerheads  have 
among  the  fishermen  the  name  of  being  the  most 
vindictive  of  the  turtles,  and  certainly  look  so  ; 
but  they  are  huge,  helpless  creatures,  and  I  have 
frequently  seen  them  with  all  four  flippers  gone, 
the  result  of  a  struggle  with  sharks. 

If  the  turtles  are  not  disturbed  by  the  hunters 
when  landing,  they  will  crawl  up  the  beach,  well 
above  tide  water,  and  then  excavate  a  hole  and 
deposit  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  spherical 
eggs,  which  are  covered  with  a  soft  shell  feeling 
like  delicate  emery  paper.  In  concealing  the  nest 
they  often  exhibit  considerable  skill,  after  cover- 
ing it  crawling  along  the  beach  some  distance  and 
returning  to  its  native  element  by  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent path.  That  this  is  confusing  I  have  often 
appreciated  in  following  up  a  track  two  or  three 
days  old.  Those  leading  up  and  down  were  al- 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  67 

ways  easily  distinguished,  and  about  two  hundred 
feet  apart ;  the  nest  was  somewhere  between  them, 
but  a  long  hunt  with  a  sharp  stick  and  continued 
probing  would  alone  enable  one  to  find  it.  In 
fourteen  or  fifteen  days  the  turtle  returns  to  the 
island  and  forms  another  nest. 

The  eggs  are  hatched  entirely  by  the  sun,  and 
in  six  weeks  time  the  little  loggerheads,  or  green 
turtles,  as  the  case  may  be,  will  be  seen  wriggling 
their  way  up  through  the  sand,  and  making  their 
way  for  the  water,  where  they  are  preyed  upon  by 
various  birds  and  fishes.  At  this  time  their  shells 
are  soft,  and  they  present  a  comical  appearance, 
and  they  then  form  most  attractive  pets.  I  had 
twenty  or  thirty  such  at  one  time,  and  their  move- 
ments on  shore,  and  the  remarkable  instinct  they 
displayed  in  finding  water  was  a  most  interesting 
study.  The  green  turtle  attains  a  large  size,  and 
specimens  have  been  found  weighing  six  hun- 
dred pounds. 

Among  the  islands  south  of  Florida  is  also 
found  the  hawk-bill,  from  which  the  famous  tor- 
toise-shell is  taken.  Covered  with  large  promi- 


68  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

ment  plates,  its  flippers  long  and  slender,  it  darts 
along  with  remarkable  speed,  easily  escaping 
its  foes,  and  rarely  being  taken  except  when 
asleep  or  surprised.  Its  name  refers  to  the  sharp 
hawk-like  bill  that  points  truly  to  a  carnivorous 
nature.  Crabs,  sponges,  an  occasional  physalia, 
and  various  other  animals  constitute  its  food, 
while  it  by  no  means  despises  vegetable  fare.  A 
pet  hawk-bill,  which  I  kept  for  some  time,  lived 
upon  land  parsley. 

In  many  of  the  Caribbean  Islands  the  plates  of 
the  turtles  are  taken  in  an  extremely  cruel  way, 
and  the  animals  returned  to  the  water  to  repro- 
duce them.  But  the  finest  shell  is  said  to  come 
from  the  Celebes,  where  the  animals  are  instantly 
killed  and  boiled  to  remove  the  shell.  The  latter 
is  too  well  known  to  need  mention.  Large  quan- 
tities are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  jewelry  of 
various  kinds,  combs,  etc.,  and  for  inlaying  fine 
furniture.  The  large  combs  that  were  in  vogue 
with  our  grandmothers  years  ago  were  made  from 
a  single  large  plate,  and  were  and  still  are  quite 
valuable. 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  69 

The  fresh-water  turtles  while  very  interesting, 
are  much  smaller  than  their  ocean-allies,  though 
one  is  found  in  South  American  rivers  which  attains 
a  width  across  the  back  of  nearly  three  feet.  In 
the  rivers  of  Florida  I  have  often  caught  what  is 
called  a  soft-shelled  turtle,  Aspi-donectcs  ferox^  the 
upper  covering  feeling  like  India  rubber,  and  pre- 
senting a  clear  surface.  It  is  often  taken  on 
hooks,  and  in  nets  set  for  fish,  and  is  an  extremely 
active  and  voracious  creature  ;  preying  upon  small 
alligators  and  fishes  of  various  kinds.  These 
turtles  are  often  seen  in  the  market  at  Jackson- 
ville and  other  localities,  and  are  esteemed  as  an 
article  of  food. 

The  true  fresh-water  turtles  of  the  world  belong 
to  the  order  Emydidce,  and  are  represented  in  vari- 
ous climes  by  over  sixty  species,  or  different  kinds. 
They  differ  materially  in  appearance  from  the 
others.  They  have  a  more  or  less  depressed  shell, 
though  in  some  cases  it  is  convex.  The  toes  are 
distinct,  and  provided  with  webs,  and  the  limbs 
are  organized  so  that  the  turtles  can  lift  them- 
selves some  distance  from  the  ground  and  travel 


JO  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

with  considerable  speed.  The  shell  is  often  bril- 
liantly ornamented,  and  a  thorough  protection, 
being  made  up  of  horny  shields.  They  are  gener- 
ally found  in  ponds  and  streams,  resting  on  logs 
or  sand-bars,  while  some  wander  far  into  the  woods 
in  search  of  food.  Their  eggs  are,  as  a  rule,  ob- 
long, and  buried,  as  are  those  of  the  marine  forms, 
in  the  sand  alongshore,  to  be  hatched  by  the  sun. 

Perhaps  the  most  familiar  form  is  the  box-turtle, 
Cistudo,  found  almost  everywhere  in  the  United 
States  east  of  the  Mississippi  River.  It  is  inde- 
pendent of  the  water,  and  commonly  discovered 
roaming  through  the  woods  in  search  of  mush- 
rooms and  toadstools.  It  is  particularly  interest- 
ing from  the  fact  that  it  can  shut  itself  completely 
in  its  house  or  shell,  the  plastron  having  two  lids 
joining  like  the  cover  of  a  box. 

The  age  to  which  these  little  creatures  attain  is 
somewhat  remarkable.  A  family  in  New  England 
possessed  one  upon  whose  back  were  the  initials  of 
a  member  of  the  family  five  generations  back,  the 
carving  having  been  made  in  the  last  century. 
The  common  Greek  tortoise,  Testudo  Grceca,  so 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  7 1 

common  in  the  countries  about  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  is  equally  noted  in  this  respect,  and  I  think 
it  is  true  of  the  entire  order.  In  Lambeth  Palace 
there  is  a  shell  of  a  Greek  tortoise  that  was  placed 
in  the  garden  of  the  archbishop  in  1633.  It  was 
still  living  in  1753,  and  then  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  years ;  even  then, 
its  death  was  said  to  have  been  due  to  neglect  on 
the  part  of  the  gardener. 

In  the  winter  all  the  northern  fresh-water  turtles 
retire  beneath  the  surface ;  some  in  the  mud,  oth- 
ers into  holes  which  they  excavate  in  the  soil,  and 
there  they  hibernate  until  warm  weather  returns, 
neither  eating  nor  drinking,  all  the  functions  being 
at  a  standstill. 

While  the  box-turtle  is  extremely  mild  and  peace- 
able in  its  disposition,  the  snapping  turtle  Chelydra 
serpentina,  is  a  veritable  bull  dog  in  its  nature ; 
striking  with  its  powerful  head,  clinging  to  its 
enemy  with  persistency,  and  to  show  the  force  of 
its  bite,  one  has  been  known  to  cut  through  a 
board  an  inch  thick  with  its  horny  jaws. 

Though  the  snapper  has  a  very  snake-like  head 


72  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

it  is  exceeded  in  this  respect  by  the  strange  Hy- 
draspis  which  has  a  slender  neck  nearly  as  long  as 
its  shell ;  so  long,  in  fact,  that  it  does  not  draw  in 
its  head  like  ordinary  turtles,  but  places  it  on  the 
side  of  the  body.  When  these  turtles,  swimming 
just  under  the  surface,  lift  their  heads  above  water 
to  reconnoitre,  the  observer  would  consider  them 
snakes.  They  are  confined  to  the  rivers  and 
streams  of  Brazil  where  the  curious  bearded  or 
imbricated  turtle,  Chelys  matamata,  is  found,  the 
most  remarkable  of  the  entire  tribe.  This  turtle 
attains  a  length  of  three  feet,  has  a  long  neck  orna- 
mented in  a  most  wonderful  manner  with  barbels 
and  fringes  of  flesh,  so  that  one  can  well  imagine 
that  it  had  been  overgrown  with  moss  or  weed. 
On  each  side  of  the  head  are  two  curious  prom- 
inences that  look  like  ears ;  above  the  mouth  is  a 
pointed  nose-like  extension  of  the  skin;  add  to 
this  a  shell  resembling  rough  rock,  and  we  have  a 
creature  which  certainly  must  find  much  protection 
in  its  resemblance  to  moss-covered  rocks. 

Some  remarkable  turtles,  as  regards  size,  are 
found  on  the  islands  of  the  Galapagos  Archipelago ; 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  73 

these  are  known  as  elephant-turtles.  There  are 
several  species,  and  when  the  islands  were  first 
discovered  they  existed  in  great  numbers,  but  since 
then  many  have  been  killed,  and  vessels  stop  there 
to  capture  the  huge  creatures  as  a  marketable 
commodity.  These  islands  are  of  volcanic  origin, 
and  contain  many  extinct  craters  and  cones,  in 
and  about  which  a  growth  of  cactus  is  found. 
When  the  original  discoverers  visited  Chatham 
Islands,  they  found  curious  paths  leading  up  to 
the  mounds,  winding  in  and  out  among  the  cacti ; 
by  following  these  up  they  soon  came  to  a  number 
of  large  springs,  in  a  muddy  basin,  wallowing  in 
which  were  scores  of  monstrous  turtles.  Some 
were  drinking,  while  others  had  evidently  just  fin- 
ished and  were  walking  slowly  away  down  the 
well-travelled  paths.  When  approached  they  sud- 
denly drew  in  their  legs  and  dropped  with  consid- 
erable noise,  at  the  same  time  uttering  a  loud  hiss. 
Their  size  and  strength  can  be  imagined  when  it 
is  known  that  two  men  could  sit  on  the  back  of 
one,  the  animal  carrying  them  with  ease.  I  have 
stood  upon  the  back  of  a  young  one  hardly  two 


74  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

and  a  half  feet  long,  and  the  animal  moved  with- 
out difficulty.  These  huge  creatures  are  very  fond 
of  water,  and  go  periodically  to  the  springs,  evi- 
dently obtaining  a  supply  sufficient  to  last  them 
some  time.  Undoubtedly  they  are  not  dependent 
upon  it,  as  on  some  of  the  islands  no  rain  falls  ex- 
cept during  a  few  weeks,  and  there  are  no  springs, 
yet  the  islands  are  inhabited  by  turtles  that  feed 
upon  the  cactus.  Beside  the  hiss  that  turtles 
utter  these  roar  loudly  at  times. 

Such  great  creatures  are  naturally  slow  travellers ; 
yet  Darwin  found  by  marking  specimens  that  they 
could  travel  eight  miles  in  two  or  three  days.  He 
says,  "  One  large  tortoise  which  I  watched  I 
found  walked  at  the  rate  of  sixty  yards  in  ten 
minutes ;  that  is  three  hundred  and  sixty  in  an 
hour,  or  four  miles  a  day,  allowing  a  little  time  for 
it  to  eat  on  the  road." 

"Some  years  ago,"  said  a  friend,  who  was  a  famous 
traveller,  and  with  whom  I  was  exchanging  turtle 
experiences,  "  I  found  myself  up  the  Amazon  so 
far  that  I  imagine  I  was  the  only  really  white  man 
in  the  country.  The  natives  and  half-breed  For- 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  75 

tuguese  held  undisputed  possession.  I  was  well 
received  everywhere,  the  people  being  extremely 
hospitable,  and  among  the  curious  things  that  I 
noticed  was  that  almost  every  family  kept  turtles 
just  as  we  do  pigs.  In  other  words,  attached  to 
nearly  every  little  house  was  a  pen  or  corral  in 
which  one  or  more  turtles  were  confined  as  the 
family  meat-supply,  and  killed  as  occasion  required. 
The  turtles,  Podocnemys  expansa,  were  extremely 
large,  some  weighing  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
and  were  three  feet  in  length,  and  proportionately 
stout  and  bulky.  I  found  that  they  formed  one  of 
the  most  important  articles  of  diet  in  the  country, 
and  many  of  the  natives  earned  a  living  by  catch- 
ing and  selling  them  to  the  richer  people.  The 
dry  season  was  the. time  for  the  capture  ;  the  ani- 
mals being  kept  until  the  hard  times  which  were 
supposed  to  come  on  during  the  wet  season  when 
the  waters  were  high  and  overflowed  everything. 
"  My  first  glimpse  at  these  huge  turtles  was  at 
a  small  hut  where  I  observed  a  child  sitting  in 
a  bath  tub  made  of  the  shell  of  one,  and  this  led 
to  my  becoming  acquainted  with  the  originals, 


76  AMONG    THE   TURTLES. 

for  my  host  observing  my  interest  in  the  ani- 
mals told  me  that  a  regularly-organized  hunt  was 
to  take  place  in  a  few  days,  and  as  his  men  were 
going  he  invited  me  to  join  them.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  hunt  we  went  to  a  little  settlement 
about  five  miles  up  the  river,  and  there  waited  for 
the  entire  party,  the  members  of  which  were  arriv- 
ing every  minute  in  their  canoes  in  fours  and  fives. 
Having  some  time  to  wait  I  went  ashore  and 
strolled  about,  and  at  one  of  the  houses  I  found 
that  the  turtles  in  their  usefulness  were  not  re- 
stricted to  food  but  were  utilized  by  the  native 
children  as  perambulators.  Hearing  a  shouting 
in  one  of  the  corrals  I  looked  over  the  fence  and 
there  were  two  little  urchins,  each  mounted  on  a 
large  turtle,  and  evidently  racing,  as  each  rider 
sat  astride  of  the  shell,  and  with  a  piece  of  bam- 
boo split  at  the  end  urged  the  phlegmatic  steeds 
along  at  a  pace  which  might  have  been  a  mile  a 
week,  as  the  turtles  aroused  at  the  noise  of  the 
blow,  would  scramble  ahead  a  foot,  for  it  certainly 
could  not  be  felt ;  but  the  moment  their  heads 
protruded  far  enough  to  see  the  diminutive  rider 


A 


\:-(  /M\A 
^f1 

-^-          >  \'  :  ••:   "<,|'''i 

J          J.-ggN^! 

mu   i    -.v-'^^^^ 


^ll§^ 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 


AMONG    THE   TURTLES.  79 

they  would  take  alarm,  draw  in  neck,  tail  and  feet, 
and  stop  suddenly  to  recover  courage  and  repeat 
the  manoeuvre  a  moment  later  —  the  riders  varying 
the  performance  by  standing  upon  the  backs  of 
their  steeds  and  frisking  about  like  circus  riders. 

"  I  was  recalled  from  this  diversion  by  the  cap- 
tain, and  soon  a  fleet  of  twenty  or  thirty  canoes 
was  moving  up  the  river.  A  mile  above  they 
turned  up  a  branch,  and  the  water  shoaling  the- 
canoes  were  hauled  upon  the  bank  at  a  point  of 
land,  and  a  detour  made  through  the  forest  until 
finally  one  of  the  men  beckoned  me  to  look  down 
through  the  trees.  We  were  on  an  elevation  of 
perhaps  one  hundred  feet  above  the  stream,  and 
as  I  glanced  down  I  saw  that  it  was  almost  dry, 
the  channel  dividing,  one  branch  flowing  on  one 
shore,  and  one  on  the  other,  the  middle  portion 
being  entirely  made  up  of  sand  banks  and  shallow 
stretches  of  water.  These  banks  originally  may 
have  been  white,  but  now  they  were  fairly  black 
with  the  great  turtles  which  we  were  in  search 
of.  If  I  had  been  told  beforehand  that  such  a 
vast  number  would  collect  I  could  hardly  have 


8o  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

believed  it,  but  here  they  were  before  my  eyes, 
literally  covering  the  flat ;  not  singly,  but  in  piles 
and  heaps,  as  many  as  five  and  six  in  some  cases. 
"  The  men  enjoined  silence,  and  proceeded  care- 
fully to  the  water's  edge,  then  dividing ;  one  half, 
perhaps  thirty  men,  taking  a  net  and  going  above 
and  around,  while  the  others  remained  opposite 
the  unsuspicious  animals  to  wait  until  the  other 
party  had  reached  a  spot  directly  in  front  of  them, 
the  method  of  procedure  being  for  both  parties  to 
advance  on  the  horde  from  opposite  sides  of  the 
river  carrying  the  nets,  which  were  ordinary  seines, 
and  so  prevent  the  turtles  from  reaching  the  water. 
At  a  signal  both  parties  crept  to  the  edge  and 
gradually  spread  up  and  down  stream  with  the 
nets,  and  when  the  latter  were  stretched  to  their  en- 
tire length  word  was  given  and  all  the  men  dashed 
into  the  shallow  water  and  ran  toward  the  centre 
or  each  other.  The  moment  the  turtles  heard 
the  noise  and  saw  the  men,  it  seemed  as  though 
the  entire  bottom  was  moving  away,  as  they  scram- 
bled in  indescribable  confusion  toward  both  par- 
ties, instinctively  knowing  that  water  was  in  that 


AMONG    THE    TURTLES.  8 1 

direction,  while  many  went  up  and  down ;  but  by 
far  the  greatest  number  ran  directly  into  the  two 
nets  that  were  soon  connected  at  the  ends,  com- 
pletely surrounding  the  reptiles.  The  men  shouted 
with  excitement,  dashing  after  those  which  crept 
under,  or  moving  the  net  to  avoid  the  turtles 
which  piled  themselves  up  against  it.  But  escape 
was  well  nigh  impossible  ;  they  were  entrapped, 
and  that,  too,  without  injury,  and  after  many  fran- 
tic endeavors  to  reach  the  adjacent  water  they 
seemingly  became  reconciled  to  their  fate.  The 
men  then  entered  the  trap  and  seizing  the  turtles 
tied  them  up  with  great  skill  and  rapidity,  while 
others  took  them  out,  often  two  men  being  required 
to  carry  one  in  the  direction  of  the  canoes.  Only 
those  of  a  certain  size  were  retained,  all  the  small 

* 

ones  being  released  to  grow  larger  and  perhaps 
be  caught  another  year. 

"  The  entire  day  was  taken  up  in  disposing  of 
the  catch,  and  when  night  fell  the  canoes  were 
loaded,  many  of  the  men  camping  on  the  spot  to 
watch  the  captives1  until  the  return  of  the  boats 
the  next  day.  In  this  way  the  natives  secured 


82  AMONG    THE    TURTLES. 

their  food  supply,  and  the  shell  was  used  in  many 
ways,  the  small  ones  as  dishes,  or,  fastened  to 
handles,  as  spoons.  In  fact,  in  this  great  land 
of  the  sun  the  turtle  was  a  very  important  and 
valuable  feature." 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  turtles  are  not  re- 
markably intelligent,  and  this  probably  is  the  case. 
I  have  had  many  as  pets,  including  green,  logger- 
head, hawk-bill  and  various  land  turtles,  but  never 
could  discover  that  they  possessed  anything*more 
than  cunning  in  some  cases,  and  intuition  in  others. 
As  an  instance  of  the  latter  I  placed  a  dozen  small 
green  turtles  just  from  the  egg  in  a  room  that  had 
a  door  leading  into  the  water,  and  though  the 
latter  was  closed  so  that  the  water  could  not  be 
seen  or  heard,  the  little  fellows  would  invariably 
crawl  to  the  seaside  door,  no  matter  in  what  direc- 
tion they  were  turned. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


IN   THE   CORAL    COUNTRY. 


r  ~ 


OME  years  ago  a 
gentleman  who 
was  interested  in 
natural  history,  ac- 
cepted an  invita- 
tion to  lecture  in 
one  of  the  large 
Eastern  cities. 
The  subject  was 


SOME    NEW    ENGLAND    CORALS. 


he  suggested  that  as  there  was  a  very  general  mis- 
understanding as  to  the  nature  of  these  interesting 
animals  he  would  give  particular  attention  to  that 
part  of  the  subject.  The  announcement,  "A  Lec- 
ture on  Corals,  by  Professor  -  —  ,"  was  given  to 
the  secretary  of  the  society  for  publication,  and 

83 


84  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

before  handing  it  to  the  printer  he  corrected  what 
he  considered  a  slight  mistake,  so  the  announce- 
ment read  that  Professor  -  -  would  lecture  upon 
the  "  coral  insect "  —  much  to  that  gentleman's  in- 
dignation, as  it  was  the  idea  of  "  the  coral  insect ' 
that  he  wished  to  correct. 

The  "  coral  insect  "  is  a  growth  of  several  poetic 
imaginations,  and  the  descriptions  of  its  toiling 
and  building  are  equally  freaks  of  fancy;  so  be- 
fore discussing  these  animals  and  their  homes  let 
us  obtain  an  idea  of  the  true  nature  of  corals. 

While  the  white,  bleached,  dead  coral  is  by  no 
means  rare,  you  may  not  have  seen  a  live  coral; 
though  a  very  beautiful  one,  Astrangia,  is  found  in 
Long  Island  Sound  and  in  adjacent  localities. 

But  while  not  familiar  with  living  corals  we  may 
find  all  along  the  New  England  coast  a  cousin  of 
theirs — the  sea-anemone,  which  will  afford  us  an 
idea  of  the  coral  animal.  In  any  pool  at  Nahant, 
or  wherever  there  are  rocky  shores,  we  shall 
find  pillar-shaped  objects  of  brown  or  other  hues, 
varying  from  two  to  four  inches  in  height,  and  in 
some  cases  resembling  a  beautiful  flower ;  the 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  85 

upper  portion  spreading  out  and  seemingly  divided 
into  myriads  of  petals  often  colored  with  rare  and 
beautiful  tints.  If  we  touch  this  seeming  flower  it 
shrivels ;  the  petals  draw  in,  and  the  living  pillar 
or  column  seems  a  brown  inconspicuous  mound. 

This  animal  is  an  anemone,  or  actinia,  and  one 
of  myriads  found  in  nearly  all  waters,  sometimes 
simple  in  color,  sometimes  gorgeous,  sometimes 
scarcely  an  inch  in  length,  sometimes  a  giant  two 
feet  across. 

If  now  we  try  to  take  up  this  anemone  we  shall 
find  it  a  difficult  operation ;  in  fact,  it  adheres  to 
the  rock  tenaciously.  Upon  examination  we  learn 
that  the  anemone  has  a  sucking-disk  by  which  it 
anchors  itself.  By  prying  off  a  specimen  and 
placing  in  a  glass  jar,  we  can  see  it  adhere  yet 
gradually  move  along ;  so  the  sucking-disk  not 
only  is  an  anchor  but  is  also  a  locomotive  organ. 

Examining  the  other  portions,  we  find  the  anem- 
one in  its  structure  to  be  a  simple  sac  with  a  suck- 
ing-disk at  its  lower  end ;  the  edge  of  the  upper 
end  divided  off  into  lobes  called  tentacles  which 
maybe  long  or  short,  and  are  hollow,  and  connect 


86  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

with  an  opening  in  the  interior  of  the  bag  formed 
by  the  outer  wall  and  the  wall  of  the  stomach 
which  hangs  in  the  animal;  there  is  no  mouth  or 
throat,  a  simple  opening  in  the  centre  of  the  tenta- 
cles performing  this  office. 

We  see  that  the  anemone  is  one  of  the  simplest 
animals  to  be  imagined.  The  food  is  caught  by 
the  tentacles  (which  are  provided  with  innumerable 
stings  or  lassos,  which  benumb  small  animals)  and 
drawn  by  them  down  into  the  simple  stomach 
where  digestion  by  the  aid  of  sea-water  is  car- 
ried on. 

Now  if  we  should  make  a  section  of  one  of  these 
anemones,  we  should  find  that  the  body  is  divided 
up  by  six  partitions  reaching  from  the  outer  wall 
and  seeming  to  support  the  stomach  or  mouth- 
cavity.  In  the  centre  of  each  of  these  rooms  is 
another  partition,  which,  however,  does  not  extend 
to  the  centre,  and  there  are  many  other  small 
ones.  The  large  partitions  are  perforated,  so  that 
the  food  taken  in  at  the  mouth  circulates  from  one 
room  to  another,  somewhat  as  blood  circulates  in 
the  human  body. 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  87 

So  we  see  that  the  anemone  is  a  simple  sac 
divided  up  into  partitions  ;  and  I  am  sure  that 
none  of  my  readers  will  for  a  moment  confuse  it 
with  a  beetle,  or  a  butterfly,  or  any  insect. 

Now  try  to  imagine  that  this  Nahant  anemone 
has  the  faculty  of  taking  lime  from  the  water  that 
passes  through  the  rooms  just  described,  and  of 
depositing  it  in  and  about  itself  heaping  it  up 
gradually,  and  we  shall  have  grasped  the  whole 
coral  idea ;  for  this  absorption  or  reception  of 
lime,  and  its  subsequent  secretion,  constitutes 
the  only  great  difference  between  the  corals  and 
the  anemones.  One  is  a  polyp  which  cannot 
secrete  lime,  and  the  other  is  a  polyp  that  does. 
There  are  other  differences,  but  this  study  of  a 
polyp  is  sufficient  to  show  that  corals  cannot  be 
classed  as  insects;  but  as  polyps  which  secrete 
lime,  not  building  it  up,  but  secreting  much  as 
we  secrete  our  bone  material. 

To  more  forcibly  illustrate  this :  if  we  take  a 
piece  of  dead  star-coral,  or  astrea,  we  shall  find 
it  made  up  of  many  little  cells  of  lime  each  with  a 
hollow  in  the  centre  for  the  mouth,  and  with  radi- 


88  IN   THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

ating  partitions  all  around  which  have  been  se- 
creted in  the  little  apartments. 

The  corals  or  lime-secreting  polyps  are  of  many 
kinds.  Some  are  single  and  are  a  foot  or  more 
in  length,  as  the  fungia ;  others  by  budding  and 
branching  form  communities,  as  the  branch-corals; 
others  again  assume  the  form  of  enormous  heads 
eight  or  ten  feet  across,  while  many  more  imitate 
leaves  and  assume  various  beautiful  shapes,  and 
in  the  aggregate  constitute  reefs,  shoals,  and 
islands  which  are  important  factors  in  strengthen- 
ing the  globe.  So  that  insignificant  as  it  appears, 
the  simple  coral  animal  wields  a  mighty  power, 
and  has  ever  been  an  important  agent  in  building 
up  continents. 

While  the  trees,  flowers,  and  other  vegetation 
beautifies  the  upper  world,  the  coral  groves,  sea- 
fans,  plumes,  etc.,  perform  the  same  office  in  the 
country  under  the  sea.  It  is  often  enjoyable  in 
our  Northern  waters  to  drift  and  observe  the 
great  fields  of  kelp  and  other  algae  below  ;  but 
this  does  not  compare  with  the  wonders  of  a  trop- 
ical sub-marine  view.  There  the  water  is  as  clear 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

as  crystal,  and  very  small  objects  can  often  be 
distinctly  seen  forty  and  fifty  feet  below.  The 
finest  displays  are  in  shoal-water  of  from  six  to 
fifteen  feet  in  depth.  Here  for  acres  we  find  the 
bottom  covered  with  a  growth  of  branch-coral  two 
and  three  feet  high,  growing  in  patches,  cut  up  by 
streets  or  lanes  two  or  three  feet  wide,  with  pure 
white  sandy  bottoms,  so  that  one  may,  as  I  have 
frequently  done,  walk  along  waist-deep  in  a  veri- 
table coral  city.  These  streets  are  sometimes 
what  are  termed  "  blind  leads ; "  in  other  words, 
they  do  not  open  upon  the  reef,  but  are  surrounded 
by  coral.  Besides  these  shallow  lanes,  in  walking 
or  poling  a  boat  along  we  may  come  suddenly  to  a 
channel,  so  deep  that  the  water  is  a  beautiful  blue, 
and  bottom  cannot  be  seen.  These  rivers  of  blue 
are  merely  branches  from  the  main  channel  and 
have  been  formed  by  a  current ;  but  often  their 
sides  are  so  precipitous  as  to  be  absolutely  up  and 
down,  a  perpendicular  wall  of  coral  a  hundred  feet 
high,  perhaps.  The  charming  contrast  presented 
by  this  wall  of  polyps  and  the  blue  water  of  these 
channels  can  hardly  be  described  ;  the  living  coral 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

is  a  rich  olive-green  hue,  while  many  of  the  tips  of 
the  branches  which  have  been  attacked  by  fishes 
or. worms,  are  pure  white. 

I  have  frequently  dived  twenty  or  thirty  feet 
beneath  the  surface,  and  swam  along  skirting  this 
bristling  and  wonderful  living  wall,  obtaining  some 
strange  glimpses  of  life  under  water.  Here  a 
great  coral  worm  enveloped  a  branch.  Between 
other  branches  gorgeous-hued  angel-fishes  glanced 
at  me  in  amazement ;  while  down  near  the  bottom 
would  be  seen  the  whips  of  the  cray-fish  moving 
nervously  to  and  fro. 

Such  trips  were  not  of  long  duration ;  but  in  a 
minute  in  clear  water  much  can  be  observed,  and 
the  under-water  excursions  were  often  repeated, 
and  many  fine  specimens  of  coral  and  shells  secured 
which  could  not  be  found  in  any  other  way.  I 
often  noticed  in  swimming  under  water  that  the 
fishes  were  not  as  timid  as  one  might  suppose. 
I  have  had  small  ones  follow  me  and  approach 
within  reach  as  I  poised  far  below,  and  this  is 
often  the  experience  of  professional  divers. 

The  branch-corals,   which   flourish  in  all    seas 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  91 

where  coral  is  found,  constitute  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  group.  Next  in  importance  came 
the  coral-heads  (astreas,  etc.)  These  grow  on 
the  reefs  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  edges  of 

o 

the  channels,  and  attain  enormous  size.  Some 
that  I  have  seen  at  Garden  Key  were  six  feet 
across,  and  from  three  to  four  feet  high.  When 
approaching  them  they  seem  to  be  ornamented 
with  flowers  blooming  all  over  their  surfaces. 
These  seeming  flowers  are  boring-worms  which 
have  penetrated  the  coral ;  their  breathing  organs 
resembling  the  petals  of  brilliant  blossoms.  At 
the  slightest  disturbance  they  disappear,  leaving 
the  orifice  of  a  tunnel  visible. 

The  great  coral-heads  are  sometimes  exposed 
at  extreme  low  tides,  the  polyps  upon  the  surface 
then  dying ;  and  finally  the  dead  matter  washing 
or  wearing  away,  a  huge  vase  is  formed,  its  sides 
covered  with  living  polyps,  while  the  interior  is 
a  great  hollow  —  the  home  of  fishes,  crabs,  cray- 
fish and  sea-urchins. 

The  head  and  branch  corals,  in  fact  most  of  the 
corals,  except  the  fungia  or  mushroom,  are  com- 


92  IN    THE   CORAL   COUNTRY. 

munities,  the  polyps  increasing  by  budding,  and 
so  forming  an  aggregation  of  animals.  No  subject 
relating  to  this  topic  is  so  interesting  as  the  coral- 
reef,  the  practical  result  of  the  life  of  the  little 
animals.  The  author  resided  several  years  upon  a 
key  whose  foundation  was  their  work.  It  was  half 
a  mile  around,  embracing  thirteen  acres  of  white 
sand  composed  of  coral,  shells,  and  the  remains  of 
marine  animals  and  plants  all  ground  and  washed 
up  by  the  waves ;  but  so  low  was  it  that  in  the 
very  centre,  and  in  front  of  our  house,  I  have  seen 
the  water  rise  a  foot,  showing  that  it  permeated 
throughout  the  entire  under-service. 

It  is  known  that  the  corals  which  are  recognized 
as  reef-builders,  the  branch  and  head-corals,  do 
not  flourish  at  great  depths ;  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
at  about  forty  or  sixty  feet.  In  localities  farther 
south  this  limit  may  be  extended  ;  but  reefs  in  very 
deep  water  do  not  exist.  They  do  not  commence 
to  grow  until  the  sea-bottom  has  been  elevated  to 
within  sixty  feet  or  so  of  the  surface.  The  bottom 
of  the  ocean  in  its  contour  differs  in  no  respect 
from  the  land ;  there  are  the  same  hills,  valleys, 


CORAL    VASES    ON    FLORIDA    REEF. 


HERMIT-CRAB      WITH     CORAL- 
GROWTH. 


IN    THE   CORAL    COUNTRY.  95 

mountains,  plains  and  plateaux.  Wherever  in  the 
coral-reef  belt  (which  may  be  considered  to  lie  be- 
tween 35°  north  and  south)  the  top  of  a  sub-marine 
mountain  approaches  within  sixty  or  one  hundred 
feet,  more  or  less,  of  the  surface,  there  we  find 
coral-reef  in  some  stage  ;  and  according  to  their 
form  or  method  of  approaching  the  surface  they 
are  given  different  names,  as  barrier-reefs,  atolls, 
fringing-reefs,  etc. 

But  it  is  evident  that  the  bottom  must  have 
been  elevated  to  reach  this  zone  where  reef-mak- 
ing corals  commence  their  growth,  and  the  methods 
by  which  this  elevation  is  accomplished  are  among 
the  most  interesting  features  of  the  subject. 

If  we  take  a  handful  of  material  brought  up 
by  the  dredge  from  the  Gulf  Stream  between  Log- 
gerhead Key  and  Havana,  we  shall  discover  the 
secret.  Separating  the  material  we  find  a  strange 
assortment.  A  large  proportion  is  fine  mud  which 
we  put  aside  for  microscopic  examination ;  but 
here  is  a  mass  of  tubes  formed  by  a  worm ;  there 
the  ground  shells  of  sea-urchins,  the  hard  por- 
tions of  crabs  and  shells  of  various  kinds,  all 


96  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

mixed  in  a  conglomerate  with  the  remains  of  in- 
numerable other  animals.  So  we  see  that  the 
inhabitants  of  this  submarine  world  do  important 
work  in  building  the  plateau  upward  toward  the 
surface. 

Now  let  us  examine  under  the  microscope  the 
soft  mud  or  sand  which  largely  constitutes  the  bot- 
tom. A  revelation !  Instead  of  ground  shell  we 
see  it  is  made  up  of  numberless  minute  shells, 
many  of  them  entire,  and  some  of  beautiful  design. 
They  are  not  mollusks,  however,  but  the  shells  of 
some  of  the  lowest  of  animals  and  plants,  known 
as  foraminifera  and  diatoms.  In  some  parts  of  the 
ocean  these  beds  of  shells  are  of  great  depth,  and 
form  a  thick  sediment  on  the  bottom,  called  the 
globigerina  ooze. 

But  where  do  all  these  shells  come  from  ?  From 
the  open  water  above  and  below.  We  find  every 
drop  alive  with  wondrous  forms,  so  many  that  it  has 
been  estimated  that  if  they  are  as  numerous  at  a 
depth  of  six  hundred  feet  as  they  are  near  the  sur- 
face, there  must  be  sixteen  tons  of  them  in  the  upper 
one  hundred  fathoms  of  every  square  mile  of  the 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  97 

ocean.  How  many  billions  of  shells  are  required 
to  weigh  sixteen  tons,  when  each  shell  is  almost 
invisible,  would  be  difficult  to  even  imagine,  but 
in  this  unaccountable  number  of  forms  we  see  an 
the  increasing  weight  crushing  those  beneath  into 
a  powder,  ever  accumulating  and  growing  upward; 
so  that  we  can  see  that  in  time  the  top  of  the  sub- 
marine hill  will  surely  be  elevated  until  it  pro- 
jects into  the  zone  of  reef-making  corals. 

But  before  we  follow  the  history  of  the  reef  let 
us  contemplate  again  the  rain  of  shells.  In  the 
deep  ocean  or  in  the  valleys,  there  is  little  chance 
vast  numbers,  as  we  see  in  the  globigerina  ooze, 
reach  the  bottom  entire,  piling  one  upon  another, 
important  factor  in  the  preparation  of  a  platform 
for  reef-building.  Enormous  quantities  of  these 
minute  organisms  are  constantly  dying,  their  shells 
sinking;  so  that  in  the  ocean  —  if  we  can  but  im- 
agine it  as  it  would  appear  through  a  huge  magni- 
fying-glass  —  there  is  a  constant  shower  of  shells 
falling  upon  the  bottom.  Many  are  dissolved,  but 
of  their  ever,  without  help,  building  up  to  the 
surface.  This  help  comes  in  elevations  of  the 


OF  THK 

UNIVERSITY 


98  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

crust.  If  we  go  to  the  Straits  of  Dover  we  shall 
find  in  the  Dover  Cliffs  the  practical  results  of 
untold  centuries  of  these  shell  rains  assisted  by 
crust  elevation.  The  Dover  Cliffs  are  made  of 
chalk,  which  is  really  lime,  deposited  upon  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean  in  just  the  way  we  have  de- 
scribed. After  ages  of  shell-deposits,  an  elevation 
of  the  crust  occurred  —  that  is,  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean  was  thrust  by  some  convulsion  high  into  the 
air,  giving  us  the  white  Dover  Cliffs  of  to-day. 

The  stones  of  which  the  great  pyramids  of  Egypt 
are  made  are  formed  of  a  species  of  foraminifera ; 
the  blocks  are  literally  sections  of  an  old  ocean  bed. 
How  many  shells  there  are  in  these  great  monu- 
ments it  is  impossible  to  conceive.  The  pyramid 
of  Gizeh  measures  seven  hundred  and  sixty-four 
square  feet  at  the  base,  has  a  perpendicular  height 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  covering  about 
four  acres ;  and  seventy-nine  million  twenty-eight 
thousand  cubic  feet  of  these  fossil  shells  were  con- 
sumed in  its  formation.  An  English  architect 
has  recently  had  the  patience  to  figure  the  cost  of 
erecting  such  a  monument  to-day,  and  his  esti- 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY,  99 

mate    was    one    hundred    and    forty-five    million 
dollars ! 

Along  with  the  shells  of  foraminifera  in  the  sub- 
marine depths  we  find  vast  numbers  of  forms 
equally  beautiful,  known  as  diatoms.  These  are 
assumed  to  be  minute  plants,  and  they  also  are  im- 
portant factors  in  building  up  ocean-bottoms.  They 
not  only  rain  upon  the  bottom  of  oceans,  but  the 
fossil  forms  are  caught  up  at  times  from  the  ele- 
vated beds  along-shore  and  whirled  through  the 
air  in  vast  showers,  When  the  late  Professor  Dar- 
win was  at  St.  Domingo  he  noticed  one  morning 
that  the  air  was  filled  with  a  thick  dust.  Some  of 
it  was  collected  from  the  rigging  of  the  vessel  and 
sent  to  Professor  Ehrenberg,  who  found  that  in  it 
were  represented  the  silicious  shields  of  sixty- 
seven  different  organic  forms  ;  two  being  marine, 
the  rest  fresh-water  organisms  which  were  being 
borne  out  over  the  ocean  to  unite  and  join  the  sub- 
marine rain  of  shells.  Some  idea  of  the  enormous 
numbers  of  these  plant-forms  can  be  gained  when 
it  is  known  that  the  dust-clouds  or  showers  are 
sometimes  so  thick  that  on  account  of  them  vessels 


100  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

have  run  ashore  just  as  they  would  in  a  fog.  The 
dust-rain  descends  upon  vessels  a  thousand  miles 
out  at  sea ;  South  American  forms  are  carried  to 
Africa  by  currents,  and  African  species  transported 
to  South  America. 

One  of  these  showers  fell  in  Lyons,  France,  in 
1846,  and  it  was  estimated  by  Professor  Ehrenberg 
that  over  seven  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  ma- 
terial fell,  of  which  ninety  thousand  were  the  shells 
of  microscopic  organisms.  One  shower  observed 
by  Darwin  at  sea  had  an  estimated  breadth  of  six- 
teen hundred  miles  and  an  area  of  over  a  million 
square  miles.  Sir  John  Ross  describes  a  bank, 
called  Victoria  Barrier,  four  hundred  miles  long 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  wide,  composed 
almost  entirely  of  these  shells.  The  city  of  Rich- 
mond in  our  country  is  built  on  a  stratum  of  them 
nearly  twenty  feet  in  thickness. 

Having  shown  some  of  the  remarkable  agencies 
that  are  helping  to  build  up  platforms  under  the 
sea,  let  us  return  to  the  history  of  the  coral-reef. 
Years  go  on  and  this  accumulation  reaches  within 
sixty  or  seventy  feet  of  the  surface ;  then  a  new 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  IOI 

factor  is  noticed.  Corals  begin  to  grow,  and  soon 
the  top  of  the  ocean-mountain  has  a  crown  of 
beautiful  forms  —  corals,  fans,  plumes.  These 
grow  rapidly,  die  down,  adding  to  the  mass  until 
the  surface  is  reached.  The  waves  grind  up  the 
branches,  wash  them  up  in  lines  or  circles,  accord- 
ing to  the  shape  of  the  platform,  until  finally  the 
dead  coral  rock  is  dry  even  at  high  tide,  and  the 
coral  key  or  island  formed.  Seeds,  always  drift- 
ing about  on  the  ocean,  are  washed  upon  the  bank, 
and  soon  palms  or  mangroves  take  root  and  grow. 
The  birds  discover  it  and  make  their  nests  there, 
and  as  the  key  becomes  larger  and  more  habitable 
man  takes  possession  —  probably  without  a  thought 
of  the  little  creatures  whose  lives  have  gone  to 
build  his  home. 

The  forms  that  coral  islands  take  depend  upon 
circumstances,  as  the  shape  of  the  platform,  the 
prevailing  currents  and  direction  of  the  wind,  the 
food-supply  of  the  corals ;  and  in  some  cases  the 
elevation  or  subsidence  of  the  crust  affects  them, 
though  by  no  means  so  much  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed and  chronicled  in  many  of  the  late  books. 


102  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

The  rate  at  which  coral  grows  has  also  been  as 
much  mistaken  as  the  method  of  reef-formation. 
The  general  idea  is  that  it  is  extremely  slow.  I 
have  observed  branch  coral  which  grew  four  or 
five  inches  in  a  year,  and  in  certain  localities  on 
the  Florida  reef  -it  is  even  more  rapid.  A  brick 
bearing  a  small  head  of  meandrina  was  kept  under 
observation  a  year,  and  the  coral  found  to  have 
grown  an  inch  during  that  time.  This  was  in 
an  aquarium;  the  growth  in  open  water  with  a 
more  abundant  food-supply  would  be  more  rapid. 
In  the  Keeling  Atoll  a  channel  was  dug  through 
to  admit  the  passage  of  a  small  schooner.  It  was 
not  used  for  ten  years,  and  was  then  almost  com- 
pletely filled  with  growing  coral.  On  the  Mada- 
gascar reef  masses  of  branch-coral  were  fastened 
by  stakes  three  feet  below  the  surface,  and  seven 
months  after  were  found  almost  at  the  surface  — 
an  astonishing  growth. 

Corals  often  assume  curious  shapes.  A  speci- 
men of  Eastern  coral  was  formed  almost  exactly 
like  a  base-ball  bat,  and  six  or  seven  feet  in  length. 
Leaf-coral  often  assumes  the  appearance  of  plants, 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  103 

and  one  branch  that  I  saw  resembled  a  huge  pair 
of  antlers.  Some  heads  grow  in  a  perfect  oval, 
while  others  are  flat.  Often  they  seem  to  imitate 
groups  of  plants,  and  a  piece  that  I  brought  up 
from  about  thirty  feet  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  re- 
sembled a  bouquet  of  flowers. 

While  individual  heads  and  branches  take  strange 
forms,  the  configuration  of  reefs  and  keys  is  equally 
interesting.  Long  Key  of  the  Tortugas  group,  for 
many  years  was  nearly  a  mile  long,  and  not  over 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide.  This  form  was 
produced  by  the  prevailing  northwest  winds  throw- 
ing up  the  white  sands  of  an  extended  lagoon 
The  key  was  pure  white,  and  composed  almost 
entirely  of  ground  bleached  coral,  broken  shells, 
and  the  leaves  of  a  lime-secreting  seaweed.  At 
every  storm  the  key  changed,  and  some  years 
after  my  observations  a  friend  who  visited  the 
spot  told  me  that  it  had  almost  disappeared,  and 
now  I  understand  it  is  forming  again.  The  lagoon 
to  the  eastward  of  this  reef  is  protected  by  a  wall 
of  dead  coral,  bare  at  low  tide,  and  after  a  storm 
I  have  seen  it  thrown  up  like  a  New  England  stone 


104  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

fence,  so  that  at  low  tide  I  could  walk  along  upon 
it  for  a  mile.  But  very  hard  walking  it  was ;  the 
rocks  being  dead  heads  of  meandrina  and  astrcea 
cut  and  worn  in  every  direction,  and  each  the 
home  of  myriads  of  animals,  crabs  and  echini  being 
the  common  forms,  while  almost  every  one  gave 
shelter  to  one  or  more  of  the  beautiful  spotted 
shells,  cyprias^  so  common  as  mantel  ornaments. 

This  reef  almost  approaches  the  atoll  form, 
which  is  found  in  all  its  perfection  in  the  South 
Pacific  where  almost  circular  ridges  of  coral  are 
seen  with  a  central  lagoon  often  affording  a  fine 
harbor,  while  the  outlying  ridge  is  covered  with  a 
luxuriant  growth  of  trees,  generally  palms  or  man- 
groves. The  atoll  is  formed  by  dead  coral  rock 
thrown  up  by  the  winds,  the  action  of  the  waves 
grinding  up  great  quantities  into  sediment,  which 
washes  into  the  interior,  there  sinking  and  forming 
a  flat  or  lagoon  upon  which  seaweeds  and  corals 
grow,  while  currents  form  deep  channels,  until  we 
have  a  central  lake  surrounded  by  a  fringing  island 
often  only  a  few  feet  in  width.  In  some  cases  the 
lagoon  finally  becomes  filled  up  or  partly  so ;  in 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  105 

others  the  dead  calcareous  matter,  as  the  branches 
of  coral,  etc.,  are  carried  away  in  solution  by  the 
carbonic  acid  of  sea-water,  and  thus  the  lagoon 
for  years  retains  about  the  same  depth.  But  each 
atoll  is  acted  upon  by  different  winds,  currents, 
etc.,  and  has  a  history  more  or  less  its  own. 

While  the  reef-making  corals  are  confined  to 
certain  limits  near  the  surface,  this  is  by  no  means 
true  of  all  corals ;  for  instance  the  fungia,  or 
mushroom  coral,  a  single  polyp,  is  found  at  great 
depths.  Ten  genera  have  been  found  living  at  a 
depth  of  one  mile  from  the  surface,  four  at  nearly 
two  miles,  while  the  Fungia  symmetrica  has  been 
discovered  in  localities  ranging  from  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet  to  three  and  a  half  miles. 
In  these  greater  depths  the  pressure  is  enormous, 
and  the  temperature  presumably  but  little  above 
freezing.  So  it  will  be  seen  that  the  popular  be- 
lief that  all  corals  require  warm  water  is  subject 
to  some  exceptions. 

Corals  also  have  a  wide  geographical  range. 
One,  called  Ddtocyathus  Agassizii,  is  dredged  in 
the  Florida  channel  in  water  nearly  two  thousand 


106  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

feet  deep,  and  also  off  Boston  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  at  a  depth  of  about  a  thousand 
feet,  where  the  temperature  is  about  39°  Fahr. 
Other  corals  are  found  on  the  Maine  coast,  and 
still  another  has  been  traced  from  the  Florida 
straits  to  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  even 
to  the  cold  waters  of  the  Norway  coast. 

Coral  is  often  found  in  curious  places.  A  crab 
was  once  caught  which  had  a  small  bunch  cover- 
ing its  shell.  When  the  Atlantic  cable,  or  a  por- 
tion of  it,  was  taken  up  for  repairs  a  coral  was 
found  growing  upon  it,  and  I  have  visited  an  old 
wreck  where  the  interior  was  fast  filling  up  with  a 
rich  growth  of  beautiful  polyps. 

The  most  valuable  coral  is  the  red  variety,  an 
Alcyonarian,  found  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
where  the  business  of  collecting  it  is  of  great  im- 
portance, over  eighty  thousand  pounds  being  taken 
every  year.  Algeria  sends  out  about  three  hun- 
dred vessels,  and  over  thirty  thousand  men  are 
employed  in  the  fisheries,  the  entire  catch  of  coral 
being  valued  at  considerably  over  a  million  dol- 
lars. 


IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY.  107 

The  coral  is  collected  principally  by  nets  formed 
of  cross-pieces  of  wood  to  which  are  fastened 
tangles  of  rope.  This  contrivance  is  weighted 
and  dragged  along  over  the  bottom  ;  the  branches 
becoming  entangled  and  so  brought  to  the  surface. 
In  some  localities  the  men  dive  for  the  coral,  but, 
as  a  rule,  nets  or  drags  are  used. 

When  first  collected  the  coral  does  not  present  an 
attractive  appearance,  and  it  is  only  when  the 
outer  portion  which  contains  the  cells  is  removed 
that  the  red  and  beautiful  axis  is  seen.  The  red 
coral  is  quite  different  from  the  reef-builders.  In 
the  latter  the  animals  rest  in  cells  in  the  very 
body  of  the  branch,  as  it  were,  but  in  the  red 
coral  they  are  in  what  might  be  termed  the  bark, 
so  that  when  a  branch  is  scraped  little  or  no  evi- 
dence of  a  cell  is  seen. 

The  red  coral  is  divided  up  into  many  different 
grades  according  to  color  and  to  hue  ;  the  delicate 
tints  of  rose  pink  being  the  most  valued  and  bring- 
ing large  prices.  The  small  pieces,  and  odds  and 
ends  are  made  into  bracelets,  necklaces,  etc.,  and 
are  much  worn  in  Italy,  it  being  supposed  by  some 


108  IN    THE    CORAL    COUNTRY. 

of  the  superstitious  peasants    that  coral  has  the 
power  of  warding  off  danger. 

In  a  number  of  sections  in  New  York  State, 
as  the  Helderberg  Mountains,  large  coral  reefs 
can  readily  be  traced,  and  the  specimens  though 
hardened  in  the  solid  rock  still  show  their  form 
and  structure.  These  entombed  skeletons  tell  a 
wondrous  story  of  the  changes  that  have  taken 
place,  and  show  that  in  years  gone  by  coral-reefs 
grew  and  formed  in  the  far  North.  In  those  days 
the  State  of  New  York  was  under  water;  a  differ- 
ence in  zones  existed,  and  Boston,  New  York  and 
the  adjacent  country  had  a  temperature  presum- 
ably like  that  of  Southern  Florida  to-day,  and  a 
very  similar  state  of  things  existed.  In  the  Cats- 
kill  Mountains  I  have  walked  over  ledges  where 
almost  the  entire  surface  was  made  up  of  sections 
of  crinoids  somewhat  similar  to  those  now  found 
in  East  Indian  waters.  Here  also  were  sponges 
entombed  in  the  solid  rock,  trilobites  or  crabs;  and 
in  one  glen,  a  veritable  moss-covered  arbor;  not 
a  stone  or  rock  but  concealed  forms  telling  of  the 
old  ocean  that  rolled  over  the  spot  many  ages  past. 


CHAPTER  V. 


HOMES     UNDERGROUND. 


N  the  last  century 
a  Swedish  prison- 
er-of-war named 
Miiller,  who  had 
been  confined  in 
Siberia,  returned 

from  the  cold  and 

desolate  country, 
bringing  with  him 
many  curious  tales  from  the  North,  which  caused  no 
little  wonder  and  excitement  in  the  quiet  city  of 
Amsterdam.  For  a  long  time  he  entertained  his 
old  neighbors  and  friends  gathered  about  the  even- 
ing fire,  rehearsing  his  experiences  and  relating 
stories.  Among  the  latter  was  one  which  seemed 
to  fascinate  his  ''listeners  more  than  all  the  rest. 


HEAD    OF    STAR-NOSED    MOLE. 


109 


110  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

This  favorite  story  was  simply  about  a  rat ;  but  a 
rat  enormous,  and  very  terrible  to  look  at.  Miiller 
did  not  profess  to  have  seen  the  animal  himself ; 
but  he  had  talked  with  many  natives  who  had, 
never  seen  above  ground,  but  that  they  had  often 
gigantic  underground  rat,  was  the  most  marvel- 
lous of  all  creatures. 

Miiller's  informants  told  him  that  the  animal  was 
and  one  and  all  averred  that  this  Tien-shu,  the 
crept  into  crevices  of  the  earth  formed  by  it  as  it 
ploughed  along  in  the  Ural  Mountains,  digging  out 
the  soil  with  two  huge  horns  which  were  fastened 
to  the  head  just  above  the  eyes.  These  horns  the 
natives  valued  very  highly,  and  sold  them  as  ivory; 
but  they  could  only  be  taken  when  the  animal  was 
dead.  Many  horns  were  obtained,  however,  as  the' 
rats  often  perished  by  trying  to  burrow  in  soft 
sand,  when  the  treacherous  material  would  pour 
in  and  smother  them.  Some  had  seen  the  animal 
alive  in  grottoes  on  the  other  side  of  Beresovsk, 
and  all  concurred  in  the  belief  that  it  died  as  soon 
as  it  saw  the  light.  They  stated,  moreover,  that 
its  flesh  was  remarkably  cooling  and  wholesome. 


"THE  GIGANTIC  UNDERGROUND  RAT,  TIEN-SHU. 


UNIVERSITY 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  113 

Nor  does  Miiller's  story  lack  confirmation  if  we 
may  believe  the  account  of  certain  Chinese  literati, 
who  not  only  described  the  Tien-shit,  but  explained 
the  shocks  of  the  earthquake  by  saying  that  they 
were  caused  by  the  movements  of  the  great  rat  un- 
derground. My  readers  will  have  suspected  what 
the  origin  of  this  curious  belief  was,  and  will  agree 
that  it  is  no  wonder  the  simple  people  of  the  North 
believed  the  huge  mammoth  to  be  an  underground 
animal.  Did  they  not  always  find  it  beneath  the 
surface?  Had  not  their  fathers  and  grandfathers 
seen  it  washed  out  of  tundras  and  torn  from  cliffs 

0 

and  ice-heaps  during  the  spring  floods  ?  and  had 
they  not  fed  their  dogs  on  the  flesh,  and  even 
eaten  it  themselves  ?  What  was  there  impossible 
in  the  story?  all  the  facts  pointed  to  its  truth.  For 
many  years  the  ivory  of  the  mammoth,  the  great 
hairy  elephant  of  the  North,  was  collected  and 
sold ;  the  natives  supposing  that  they  were  taking 
the  tusks  of  an  animal  which  bored  about  in  the 
earth  just  as  does  the  mole  to-day.  Nearly  all  the 
mammoths  which  have  been  found,  appeared  at 
first  in  the  side  of  immense  cliffs  frozen  in  a  solid 


114  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

mass  with  gravel,  earth,  and  ice,  and  where  they 
had  been  imprisoned  and  preserved  for  ages. 

A  large  number  of  animals  make  their  home  un- 
derground. As  a  rule  they  are  provided  by  nature 
with  means  which  perfectly  fit  and  adapt  them  to 
such  an  existence.  The  fore-feet  are  strong  and 
powerful ;  the  claws  greatly  developed,  so  that  the 
earth  can  be  thrown  out  quickly ;  and  we  find  that 
some  have  veritable  sacks  or  bags  in  which  the 
material  is  carried  out. 

One  of  the  most  familiar  of  our  underground 
livers  is  the  common  mole,  whose  work  can  be 
seen  all  over  our  Northern  orchards  in  the  morning ; 
showing  that  their  tunnels,  like  those  of  the  fabled 
Tien-shu,  have  been  made  with  remarkable  celerity. 
But  however  well  the  mole  is  known  by  its  ridges, 
there  are  comparatively  few  people  who  ever  see 
them  alive,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  little 
creatures  are  extremely  timid  and  shun  the  light, 
coming  out  only  at  night.  The  only  one  that  I 
have  ever  seen  moving  about  during  the  day  was 
one  which  a  cat  had  caught  in  the  deep  grass  of  an 
orchard. 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  115 

The  mole  is  a  thorough  subterranean  worker, 
Its  entire  make-up  tells  of  a  life  underground.  It 
is,  comparatively  speaking,  blind,  its  eyes  being 
mere  specks ;  the  smallest  black  bead  will  repre- 
sent them.  It  is  often  stated  that  the  mole  has 
no  eyes,  but  this  is  an  error;  and  as  insignificant 
as  are  these  little  organs  they  are  present,  the  lens 
consisting  of  a  small  number  of  minute  cells.  The 
retina  is  not  so  elaborate  as  seen  in  other  animals; 
and  probably  some  moles  are  blind  from  the  fact 
that  the  optic  nerves,  which  carry  the  picture  to 
the  brain,  have  become  degenerated  by  disuse. 

But  if  it  has  poor  eyesight,  the  mole  possesses 
a  remarkable  nose  and  a  powerful  scent,  which 
fully  make  up  for  any  optical  deficiency.  This 
scent  enables  it  to  capture  all  the  worms  and  in- 
sects which  lie  in  the  path  of  its  burrows  ;  and  that 
these  little  creatures  are  a  valuable  ally  of  the 
farmer  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  it  is  estimated 
that  a  single  one  devours  twenty  thousand  insects 
a  year.  Actual  experiment  has  shown  that  one 
will  devour  four  hundred  and  thirty  maggots,  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty  grubs  in  four  days.  One 


Il6  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

under  observation  ate  eight  hundred  and  seventy- 
two  maggots  and  three  hundred  and  forty  grubs 
in  twelve  days ;  and  in  another  instance  two  of 
these  voracious  little  animals  ate  in  nine  clays 
three  hundred  and  forty  grubs,  one  hundred  and 
ninety-three  earth  worms,  twenty-five  caterpillars, 
and  a  mouse,  skin,  bones,  and  all. 

The  most  remarkable  mole  in  this  country,  as 
far  as  appearances  go,  is  the  star-nosed  mole  ;  so 
called  from  the  fact  that  from  its  nose  radiate  a 
number  of  fleshy  points,  which  are  of  use  in  aiding 
the  little  animal  to  obtain  its  prey. 

All  the  moles  are  noted  for  their  burrows; 
but  in  the  elaboration  of  its  home  and  the  archi- 
tectural skill  exhibited,  the  English  mole,  Talpa 
europea,  is  without  a  peer  amongst  all  under- 
ground animals  ;  and  when  we  consider  that  this 
habitation  is  built  in  the  dark,  and  by  a  creature 
presumably  low  in  the  scale  of  intelligence,  it  is 
most  wonderful. 

Although  the  ridges  of  the  English  mole  are 
seen  extending  in  every  direction,  the  little  crea- 
ture really  confines  its  maraudings,  if  so  its  excur- 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  I  17 

sions  here  and  there  can  be  termed,  to  a  compar- 
atively limited  space.  The  fortress  or  nest  is  at 
one  end,  and  is  a  most  complicated  affair,  gen- 
erally built  near  the  roots  of  a  tree  or  under  a 
prominent  hillock  which  is  firm  and  well  packed, 
and  when  finished  is  a  room  surrounded  by 
two  galleries  supported  by  five  pillars  which  are 
separated  by  as  many  passages  leading  above 
and  below.  In  the  centre  of  the  lower  gallery 
and  beneath  the  upper,  the  nest  is  formed,  and 
the  young  reared.  The  upper  gallery  can  be 
reached  from  this  by  three  passages,  and  there 
is  another  which  extends  downward  at  first  for 
some  inches,  and  then  rises  again,  joining  a 
high  road  which,  next  to  the  nest,  is  the  most 
important  feature  of  this  subterranean  home.  It 
extends  in  nearly  a  straight  line  from  the  for- 
tress, and  is  the  highway  from  which  all  the  roads 
lead.  It  is  just  wide  enough  for  a  single  mole  to 
pass,  and  when  two  meet,  and  both  are  determined, 
a  contest  ensues ;  but  usually  one  will  retire  into 
some  of  the  numerous  passages  which  branch  off 
from  it.  These  radiations  are  the  hunting-grounds 


Il8  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

of  the  lirtle  animal,  and  wind  about,  crossing  and 
passing  each  other  in  a  wonderful  manner,  and 
are  continually  being  added  to  by  the  hungry  hunt- 
ers. From  the  high  road  at  least  nine  branches 
lead  to  the  upper  or  lower  gallery  of  the  nest,  and 
in  making  these  tunnels  the  little  worker  is  careful 
not  to  have  the  doors  or  openings  of  the  upper 
gallery  over  those  of  the  lower;  in  fact,  everything 
is  arranged  to  render  escape  easy  in  time  of  dan- 
ger; the  runs,  alleys,  and  by-ways,  all  are  con- 
structed with  that  end  in  view. 

While  the  mole  is  apparently  a  clumsy  creature 
on  the  surface,  its  movements  are  extremely  rapid 
underground.  Some  curious  experiments  have 
been  made  to  test  its  speed.  Thus  a  French  nat- 
uralist, having  ascertained  that  a  mole  was  at  the 
end  of  the  high  road  farthest  from  the  nest,  in- 
serted a  horn  into  the  tunnel  near  the  end,  the 
mouth-piece  being  out  of  the  ground,  and  then 
placed  several  little  flags  which  penetrated  the  tun- 
nel, along  the  route,  hoping  that  when  the  mole 
darted  away  it  would  knock  them  over  in  succes- 
sion, and  so  its  speed  be  determined.  The  ex- 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  119 

periment  proved   a  perfect  success.      When  the 
little  animal  was  supposed  to  have  reached  a  lo- 
cality near  the  end  of  the  road  the  naturalist  blew 
a  loud  blast  upon  the  horn,   which  undoubtedly 
reverberated  through  all  the  tunnels  and  passages, 
sadly  frightening  the  mole,  which  started  at  a  tre- 
mendous speed  down  the  road  toward  its  castle, 
the  spectators  observing  the  flags  go  down  in  such 
rapid  succession  that  they  expressed  the  opinion 
that  it  was  travelling  as  fast  as  a  horse  could  trot. 
In   Southeastern  Russia,  and  Western  Asia  is 
found  an  extremely  comical  burrower,  an  ally  of 
the  mole,  known  as  the  elephant  shrew,  Myogale 
moschata.    This  little  animal  is  aquatic,  and  forms 
long  burrows  in  the  earth  where  its  nest  is  made, 
and  though  not  showing  the  remarkable  architect- 
ural ability  exhibited  by  the  European  mole,  it  is 
a  very  interesting  borer.     In  appearance  it  some- 
what resembles  the  common  shrew,  but  its  nose 
is  developed  into  a  complete  proboscis,  which  is 
used  to  a  certain  extent  like  that  of  the  elephant. 
It  can  be  moved  in  any  direction,  can  grasp  a  bug 
or  worm  and  carry  it  to  its  mouth  ;  in  short,  acting 


120  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

so  much  like  that  of  an  elephant  that  the  name  is 
well  applied. 

When  the  first  white  travellers  penetrated  Aus- 
tralia they  heard  many  curious  stones  concerning 
an  animal  the  natives  called  the  mullingong  or 
tambreet.  So  remarkable  were  the  descriptions 
that  the  creature  was  considered  fabulous.  One 
Australian  endeavored  to  describe  it  by  showing  a 
duck's  bill,  a  cock's  spur,  and  the  fur  of  a  cat,  to 
which  combination  he  added  the  webbed  foot  of  a 
cluck,  all  of  which,  he  said,  the  mullingong  pos- 
sessed. Moreover,  it  was  a  swimmer,  a  water- 
loving  animal,  and  formed  extensive  burrows  deep 
in  the  ground  for  the  preservation  of  its  young. 
An  animal  having  the  characteristics  of  bird  and 
beast  would  certainly  be  a  novelty :  but  finally  the 
mullingong  was  discovered  and  found  to  be  no  less 
a  wonder  than  the  description  of  the  natives  im- 
plied. 

This  strange  creature  is  now  known  as  the  duck- 
bill or  Ornithorhynchus,  and  really  combines  the 
features  of  several  different  animals.  It  is  an 
aquatic  milk-giving  animal,  about  eighteen  inches 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  12  I 

long,  covered  with  a  rich  chestnut-brown  fur.  Its 
mouth  projects  into  a  horny  bill  as  perfect  as  that 
of  a  duck,  and  is  furnished  with  several  hard 
rounded  teeth.  Just  back  of  this  are  the  shining 
bead-like  eyes.  The  toes  on  the  front-feet  are 
webbed,  as  in  a  duck,  and  the  hind-feet  of  the 
males  are  armed  with  a  perforated  spur.  In  fact, 
a  stranger  combination  could  hardly  have  been 
conjured  up  by  the  most  vivid  imagination,  and  as 
if  this  were  not  enough,  it  is  now  known  that 
this  milk-giving,  bird-billed  little  creature  lays 
eggs  like  a  reptile,  from  which  the  young  are 
hatched. 

These  quaint  creatures  are  quite  harmless,  and 
are  easily  tamed,  making  exceedingly  interesting 
pets.  An  English  naturalist,  who  spent  a  number 
of  years  in  Australia  in  order  to  study  their  habits, 
kept  many  of  them  about  his  place.  They  would 
climb  upon  the  furniture  in  the  room  and  upon  his 
shoulder,  and  go  to  sleep  on  his  lap  coiled  up  in 
a  perfect  furry  ball.  In  their  native  state  they  live 
upon  insects  and  small  animals,  which  are  found 
on  the  bottom  of  streams,  to  obtain  which  the  lit- 


122  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

tie  creatures  swim  along,  overturning  the  stones 
with  their  curious  bills. 

The  home  or  nest  of  the  duck-bill  is  far  under- 
ground, and  is,  as  a  rule,  begun  under  water  at 
the  bank,  so  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  find 
them.  The  natives'  method  is  to  walk  along  the  side 
of  a  river  or  stream,  and  pierce  the  ground  with  a 
long  sharp  stick.  The  burrow  is  gradually  worked 
upward  until  it  is  perhaps  four  or  five  feet  from 
the  surface  of  the  water,  or  at  least  above  the 
possibility  of  a  flood  when  the  river  is  high,  and 
then  runs  down  for  a  number  of  feet,  finally  lead- 
ing into  a  large  room.  Here  grass,  leaves,  and 
other  material  are  taken  by  the  duck-bills  and  the 
nest  made,  upon  which  the  eggs  (as  a  rule,  two) 
are  deposited.  Very  little  is  known  concerning 
their  habits  or  those  of  the  young ;  but  that  the 
parents  are  very  skilful  in  hiding  their  home  from 
intruders  is  evident.  The  discovery  that  these 
animals  lay  eggs  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
and  interesting  of  modern  times. 

During  a  recent  trip  across  the  plains,  and  in 
crossing  a  piece  of  country  where  the  remains  of 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  123 

old  lava  beds  were  succeeded  by  stretches  of  level 
land,  I  came  suddenly  upon  a  coyote,  the  cow- 
ardly wolfish  barker  of  the  West.  When  I  first 
espied  him  he  was  standing  in  a  curious  position 
with  legs  well  apart,  as  if  bracing,  and  his  head 
turned  aside.  For  a  moment  I  thought  he  had 
been  injured,  but  a  second  glance  showed  that 
this  was  far  from  being  the  case.  He  was  stand- 
ing in  the  midst  of  a  prairie  dog  settlement,  and 
in  a  circle  about  him  were  numbers  of  the  dogs 
in  the  various  positions  they  assume  ;  some  stand- 
ing upright,  others  pawing  the  air,  and  uttering 
curious  cries ;  but  one  and  all  were  on  the  alert, 
and  not  to  be  deceived  or  cajoled  by  this  pre- 
tender. It  was  evident  that  the  coyote  was  en- 
deavoring to  convince  the  prairie  dogs  that  he 
was  friendly,  only  a  harmless  member  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom  making  them  a  visit  out  of  pure 
friendship ;  and  his  way  of  showing  this  was  to 
assume  a  ridiculous  attitude  and  advance  toward 
them  step  by  step.  But  the  dogs  were  altogether 
too  knowing  for  this,  and  as  the  coyote  drew  near 
they  dropped  into  their  holes,  others  appearing  as 


124  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

he  moved  on,  so  that  he  was  ever  in  the  centre  of 
an  interested  crowd ;  but  he  found  that  to  approach 
near  enough  to  seize  one  of  the  little  marmots  was 
an  impossibility,  and  as  I  left  my  place  of  conceal- 
ment, he  raised  a  dismal  howl  of  despair,  and 
trotted  off. 

The  prairie  dogs  though  cunning  enough  to  avoid 
the  coyote  are  often  in  their  young  days  victims  to 
a  still  more  terrible  enemy,  the  rattlesnake.  The 
dogs,  or  marmots,  more  properly,  build  their  homes 
underground,  forming  them  in  the  level  prairie  or 
flat  land ;  the  opening  being  surrounded  by  a  pile 
of  earth,  which  constitutes  a  piazza,  or  platform, 
upon  which  the  animals  sit.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
burrow  the  nest  is  made,  and  the  young  reared. 
As  there  are  no  nooks  and  corners  for  the  snakes 
to  hide  in,  they  sometimes  enter  the  homes  of  the 
marmot  and  live  there  ;  not  in  peace  and  harmony, 
as  some  would  have  us  believe,  for  the  young  mar- 
mots often  disappear  in  a  remarkable  way,  and  I 
believe  the  snake  could  possibly  explain  it. 

Two  such  entirely  different  animals  would  seem 
quite  sufficient  for  so  small  a  home  ;  but  there  is 


\  B         .'  KX 

OF    THK 

UNIVERSITY 
CALIFO.: 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  125 

still  another  inmate  —  a  small  burrowing  owl;  so 
called  because  it  will  itself  burrow  where  there  are 
no  prairie  dogs  to  dig  a  hole  for  it ;  but  when  it  can 
find  a  burrow,  it  takes  up  its  quarters  unbidden  ;  so 
that  these  three  utterly  unsocial  creatures  are  some- 
times, though  not  as  a  rule,  found  in  one  home, 
just  as  any  animals  might  take  refuge  in  a  common 
nest ;  but  that  there  is  any  agreement  between 
them  to  live  harmoniously,  as  is  often  related,  is 
a  gross  error.  The  snake  probably  has  the  best 
of  it;  the  young  owls  and  prairie  dogs  being  tid- 
bits quite  to  its  taste ;  and  so  we  see  that  all  the 
homes  underground  are  not  as  safe  and  secluded 
as  might  be  supposed. 

The  settlements  of  the  prairie  dogs  are  found  in 
the  Western  country,  covering  vast  areas.  I  have 
seen  settlements  that  extended  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  each  nest  being  marked  by  the  bush- 
els of  material  which  had  been  brought  out  from 

«- 

time  to  time,  in  many  cases,  probably,  to  form  a 
suitable  lookout  from  which  to  observe  an  ap- 
proaching enemy. 

Some  years  ago  a  curious  underground  home 


126  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

was  discovered  in  the  islands  known  as  "  The 
Chickens,"  off  the  east  coast  of  New  Zealand, 
which  gave  shelter  also  to  three  entirely  different 
animals,  which  seemingly  lived  together  in  friend- 
ship ;  perhaps  for  the  reason  that  they  were  all 
harmless  and  not  particularly  aggressive.  The 
owner  of  the  home  was  a  little  bird,  a  petrel  ; 
better  known  to  us  as  the  Mother  Carey's  chicken. 
In  these  bleak  islands  the  birds  had  made  their 
nests,  burrowing  into  the  soil  in  such  vast  num- 
bers that  in  certain  places  the  ground  seemed  en- 
tirely honeycombed  by  them.  At  the  end  of  the 
long  tunnel,  a  room  was  widened  out,  and  a  soft 
bed  made  of  moss  or  grasses,  upon  which  the  eggs 
of  the  petrel  were  laid.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
room  was  another  occupant  -  -  a  disagreeable-look- 
ing lizard,  known  to  science  as  the  Sphenodon  punc- 
tatus.  The  latter  never  ventures  out  during  the 
day,  and  lives  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  food 
brought  in  by  the  petrels.  According  to  some  au- 
thorities the  lizards  sometimes  make  the  burrow 
and  the  birds  become  the  intruders.  The  third 
member  of  the  trio  is  a  rabbit  —  a  strange  family  ! 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  127 

It  is  a  common  saying  in  Southern  California 
that  the  rats  live  in  trees  and  the  squirrels  in  the 
ground.  This  is  true  to  some  extent,  as  a  wood- 
rat  builds  a  large  nest  in  the  trees,  and  certain 
squirrels  burrow. 

In  a  small  field  in  the  San  Gabriel  Valley  I 
have  counted  the  heaps  of  twenty  or  thirty  of 
these  squirrels ;  the  little  animals  darting  about 
here  and  there,  or  standing  upright,  and  so  re- 
sembling the  soil  in  color  that  it  was  often  difficult 
to  distinguish  them.  The  holes  of  these  squirrels 
are  very  large,  and  are  sometimes  inhabited  by  a 
small  burrowing  owl.  These  owls  are  very  comi- 
cal fellows  and  very  social.  In  riding  through 
the  valley  where  their  holes  were  a  characteristic 
feature,  I  was  obliged  to  be  constantly  on  the 
lookout  to  prevent  my  horse  from  falling  into  them  ; 
and  occasionally  when  a  bird  would  appear,  and  I 
would  gallop  in  chase,  it  would  fly  a  few  yards, 
and  when  routed  again  hover  overhead  not  twenty 
feet  away,  and  snap  its  beaks  and  shriek  with 
rage,  showing  all  the  petulance  of  a  spoiled  child 
annoyed  at  being  disturbed. 


128  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

In  riding  through  a  canon  in  the  Puente  Hills, 
foothills  of  the  Sierra  Madres,  the  sides  were  seen 
to  be  burrowed  every  few  yards  with  the  nests  or 
homes  of  two  species  of  owls,  which  presented 
a  comical  appearance,  especially  one,  called  the 
"  monkey  face,"  as  they  sat  on  the  heap  of  dirt  in 
front  of  their  doors  and  blinked  wisely  at  us. 

The  work  which  birds  accomplish  in  forming 
their  homes  underground  is  often  remarkable.  The 
burrows  of  the  cliff-swallows  are  familiar  exam- 
ples, showing  a  vast  amount  of  labor  performed  by 
a  delicate  bird. 

But  in  the  Southern  Ocean  near  Tristan  da  Cunha 
Islands  are  the  most  wonderful  underground  homes 
found.  In  some  of  these  islands  there  are  such 
vast  numbers  of  penguins  that  they  literally  cover 
acres  and  acres,  often  the  entire  island  beins:  cut 

'  O 

up  into  their  lanes  and  streets.  Their  nests  are 
upon  the  surface,  but  underneath  the  rich  loam  is 
tunneled  in  every  direction  by  a  perfect  maze  of 
nests,  the  subterranean  homes  of  several  species 
of  water-birds.  So  thick  indeed  are  these  nests 
that  a  naturalist  in  walking  was  actually  in  fear  of 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  129 

his  life.  At  every  move  he  broke  through,  from 
six  to  eight  inches,  into  a  fresh  tunnel,  and  stepped 
either  upon  the  birds,  or  eggs.  On  the  surface 
numbers  of  penguins  were  pecking  at  him;  strik- 
ing at  his  face  and  eyes  with  their  sharp  bills  as 
he  fell. 

In  Southern  California  the  small  lizards  dig 
holes  and  take  refuge  in  them,  and  often  share 
them  with  scorpions. 

The  most  interesting  underground  home  in  this 
country,  however,  is  that  of  the  great  tarantula  or 
trap-door  spider.  Some  of  these,  which  I  have 
seen  farther  South,  if  placed  in  a  saucer  could 
rest  their  legs  on  the  edge  all  around,  and  are  the 
veritable  giants  of  their  race.  An  ally  in  South 
America  captures  small  birds,  but  the  one  first 
mentioned  is  a  subterranean  dweller,  living  on 
small  animals  and  insects.  The  nest  is  built  in  ' 
adobe  ground,  which  is  a  hard  clay-like  soil.  When 
a  place  is  selected,  the  spider  proceeds  to  excavate 
it  in  a  circle  with  its  mandibles,  taking  it  out  piece 
by  piece,  until  finally  a  well  from  six  to  eight  inches 
deep  is  seen.  It  is  now  rounded  off  so  as  to  pre- 


130  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

sent  a  regular  surface,  but  is  even  then  too  rough 
for  the  tender  body  of  the  spider  to  rest  against, 
and  may  be  compared  to  a  house  all  finished  but 
the  door  and  plastering.  The  latter  is  quickly  ac- 
complished ;  the  spider  attaching  a  thread  of  silk 
to  the  top,  spins  on,  passing  round  and  round 
until  a  perfect  sheet  of  shining  silk  covers  the 
whole  interior,  hanging  on  the  wall  like  a  delicate 
lace  or  silk  tapestry,  and  forming  a  veritable  lad- 
der for  the  spider,  whose  sharp  claws  catch  upon 
it  with  the  greatest  ease. 

The  lining  finished,  the  patient  worker  turns  its 
attention  to  the  door,  which  is  the  most  remark- 
able feature  of  this  curious  home,  being  fastened 
to  the  side  by  a  hinge,  and  so  perfectly  adjusted 
that  it  closes  itself  after  the  spider  has  passed  out. 
The  door  is  made  by  attaching  silk  upon  one  side, 
after  which  the  tarantula  moves  as  before  round 
and  round,  gradually  forming  a  silken  door,  rang- 
ing in  size  from  a  silver  dollar  to  a  fifty-cent  piece, 
depending  upon  the  size  of  the  opening.  As  it 
approaches  completion  this  door  is,  of  course,  ex- 
tremely light,  and  so  the  spinner  weights  it  down 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

with  adobe  until  finally,  when  finished,  it  is  flat  on 
top,  the  exact  color  of  the  surrounding  soil,  and 
fits  the  opening  so  perfectly  that  the  sharpest  eyes 
fail  to  see  it,  and,  moreover,  it  is  absolutely  water- 
tight. The  little  owner  has  no  difficulty  in  opening 
it ;  and  in  returning  to  the  nest  deftly  lifts  up  the 
cover,  and  slips  in  so  quickly  that  many  a  pursuer 
is  mystified.  If  an  enemy  does  discover  the  secret 
the  spider  will  often  turn  and  seize  the  lower  part 
of  the  door,  which  is  a  soft  cushion,  and  by  brac- 
ing back,  with  feet  against  the  side  of  the  tunnel, 
hold  it  so  strongly  that  considerable  exertion  is 
required  to  lift  it ;  when  all  efforts  fail  the  spider 
will  sometimes  allow  itself  to  be  pulled  out,  and 
then  makes  a  leap  at  the  enemy.  A  gentleman 
in  Los  Angeles  informed  me  that  one  of  these 
spiders  sprang  a  distance  of  several  inches  at  him. 
In  the  North  the  badger,  wood-chuck,  and  others 
are  well  known  as  delvers  in  the  soil ;  and  in  South 
America  some  of  the  most  curious  of  all  animals, 
the  armadillos,  are  even  better  equipped  for  such 
a  life.  The  peba,  Tatusia  novemcincta,  is  enveloped 
in  a  complete  armor,  the  carapace  being  divided 


132  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

into  rings  so  that  the  animal  can  coil  itself  into 
a  perfect  ball,  and  thus  defy  the  largest  puma. 
Its  feet  are  of  astonishing  size,  and  armed  with 
powerful  claws  which  enable  it  to  make  long  and 
extensive  burrows.  The  three-banded  armadillo 
is  a  famous  burrower,  and  when  coiled  up  in  its 
underground  home  might  be  compared  to  a  can- 
non-ball in  the  muzzle  of  a  gun. 

Many  of  these  animals  are  much  esteemed  by 
the  natives,  and  as  it  is  impossible  to  overtake 
them  by  digging  they  are  routed  by  a  systematic 
smoking,  which  soon  brings  them  to  the  surface. 
After  eating  the  flesh,  the  natives  often  put  the 
shell  to  a  peculiar  use,  making  it  into  a  guitar  or 
rude  musical  instrument,  while  the  tail  of  a  fossil 
species  is  used  as  a  trumpet. 

Even  more  remarkable  in  appearance  than  the 
armadillo,  is  the pichidago  Chlamyphorous,  of  South 
America  ;  a  little  creature  with  armor  on  its  back, 
so  artificial  in  appearance  that  it  might  be  sup- 
posed to  have  been  put  on  to  give  the  animal  a 
comical  aspect.  Its  claws  are  enormous  when 
compared  to  the  size  of  the  body,  and  by  their 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  133 

use  the  little  Pichiciago  can  disappear  beneath  the 
surface  with  wonderful  celerity.  Its  position  in 
digging  is  a  comical  one.  When  the  hole  or  bur- 
row is  first  opened  the  fore-claws  are  employed, 
and  when  sufficient  earth  has  been  thrown  back  it 
raises  itself  up,  supporting  itself  upon  the  fore- 
claws  and  tail,  leaving  the  hind-claws  free,  which 
now  work  like  the  arms  of  a  wind-mill,  in  tossing 
back  the  earth,  and  thus  alternating,  first  on  all 
fours,  then  on  the'tail  and  fore-feet,  the  burrow  is 
formed,  often  leading  far  into  the  earth,  and  cross- 
ing and  re-crossing  until  a  maze  of  lanes  and  walks 
is  the  result.  In  these  subterranean  abodes  the 
little  ones  are  reared ;  but  concerning  their  habits 
very  little  is  known. 

In  South  Africa  a  very  curious  subterranean 
home-maker  is  found.  The  natives  call  it  the 
ground-hog,  from  its  resemblance  to  one  of  these 
animals,  but  it  is  better  known  as  the  aard-vark. 
Like  all  the  diggers  it  has  powerful  claws,  and 
has,  perhaps,  more  of  a  motive  to  dig  than  many 
others,  as  its  food  consists  almost  wholly  of  ants, 
which  it  digs  out  of  the  ground.  Some  idea  of  the 


134  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

rapidity  of  its  movements  underground  can  be  ob- 
tained from  the  fact  that  one  which  was  observed 
by  a  hunter  walking  along,  succeeded  in  digging  a 
burrow  and  disappearing  before  he  could  reach  it. 
Their  homes  generally  lead  downward  at  a  sharp 
angle,  and  are  then  enlarged  into  a  commodious 
chamber  in  which  the  family  of  the  aard-vark  re- 
sides. 

The   ants  which   constitute   the   food   of   these 

• 
curious  creatures,  are  themselves  perhaps  the  most 

ingenious  and  interesting  of  all  underground  min- 
ers, and  the  skill  and  ability  displayed  in  some  of 
their  works  show  something  more  than  instinct. 
The  homes  of  the  Termites,  or  white  ants  as  they 
are  incorrectly  called,  having  little  affinity  with 
true  ants,  are  perhaps  the  most  remarkable.  The 
nests  are  enormous  mounds,  often  ten  or  twelve 
feet  high,  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  so  solid  that  man  and  large  animals 
can  mount  them  with  perfect  security.  But  woe 
befall  the  animal  which  should  chance  to  fall  into 
one  !  as  in  a  moment  it  would  be  attacked  by 
myriads  intent  upon  vengeance. 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  135 

To  give  some  idea  of  their  numbers,  in  St.  Hel- 
ena, where  they  were  accidentally  introduced,  the 
greatest  damage  was  the  result.  Jamestown  was 
literally  devastated  by  them  ;  the  cathedral  was 
destroyed,  few  books  of  the  public  library  escaped, 
and  everything  in  the  town  was  more  or  less  in- 
jured. The  government  stores,  though  packed  in 
tight  tin  cans,  were  entered,  and  thousands  of 
pounds  destroyed.  How  they  gained  entrance 
into  these  cans  was  long  a  mystery ;  but  finally  it 
was  found  that  the  moisture  on  their  feet  as  they 
walked,  had  corroded  the  tin  so  that  it  had  rusted 
through,  leaving  small  openings.  These  insects 
work  out  of  sight;  hollowing  out  the  legs  of  tables 
and  timbers  of  all  kinds  ;  and  large  supports,  which 
had  been  supposed  to  be  solid,  have  been  found  to 
be  simple  shells. 

Their  homes  are  a  maze  of  tunnels,  among  which 
various  apartments  are  prepared  for  the  young ; 
and  in  the  centre  of  all  is  always  found  a  small 
room  which  contains  the  queen-ant,  who  is  watched 
and  attended  by  the  ants  of  different  grades  with 
the  greatest  solicitude.  Some  years  ago  several 


136  HOMES    UNDERGROUND. 

American  gentlemen  were  lunching  in  the  City  of 
Mexico  when  a  dessert  was  served  which  looked 
like  currants,  but  was  found  to  be  ants  swollen 
with  honey.  Later  they  learned  that  these  remark- 
able little  creatures  were  veritable  bottles,  which 
had  been  hung  by  ants  upon  the  walls  of  a  subter- 
ranean home  as  a  winter  supply  of  food,  to  be 
taken  down  and  used,  or  rather,  the  honey  which 
they  held,  as  occasion  required. 

In  the  far  northern  country  of  Nova  Zembla  the 
mountain  fox,  Vulpes  lagopus,  perhaps  to  escape  the 
rigors  of  the  Arctic  winter,  constructs  its  home 
underground,  a  maze  impossible  to  follow.  The 
naturalists  of  the  Vega  expedition,  found  the  lanes 
and  alleys  leading  to  the  rooms  often  crowded  and 
packed  with  birds  which  had  been  caught  by  the 
little  hunters  and  stored  away  for  use. 

Our  common  jumping- mouse,  Zapus,  is  an  inter- 
esting burrower,  and  when  caught  upon  the  surface 
it  has  been  known  to  leap  quite  over  a  man's  head. 
It  has  been  found  in  the  winter  at  the  end  of  its 
burrow,  coiled  up  in  a  ball  of  grass,  apparently 
dead  ;  but  in  reality  in  the  strange  condition  of 


HOMES    UNDERGROUND.  137 

insensibility  known  as  hibernation ;  a  state  into 
which  many  animals  pass  at  the  approach  of  win- 
ter to  enable  them  to  bridge  over  the  cold  season. 
These  are  but  a  few  instances  taken  from  many, 
illustrating  the  boundless  resources  of  nature,  and 
showing  that  not  only  are  the  air  and  water  the 
seeming  homes  of  many  forms,  but  the  solid  earth 
is  bored  and  tunneled  to  give  them  sustenance  and 
protection. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT   THEMSELVES. 

VEN  upon  a  glance 
at  the  so-called 
lower  orders  of 
animal  life  it  is 
evident  that  the 
various  forms 
must  prey  upon 
one  another  to 
live,  and  while 


A    NOVEL    FERRY-BOAT. 


certain  animals  are  furnished  with  teeth,  claws, 
and  powerful  muscles  and  every  faculty  for  the 
capture  of  others,  even  the  most  helpless  crea- 
ture seems  to  be  provided  with  some  means  of 
protection  or  defence  ;  and  that  these  are  often  of 
the  most  wonderful  nature  every  observer  knows. 
As  a  rule,  the  lower  the  animals  in  the  scale  of 

'38 


HOW   ANIMALS    PROTECT   THEMSELVES.        139 

life  the  more  elaborate  is  the  defence  ;  even  the 
extremely  simple  forms,  as  the  jelly-fish  and  the 
physalia,  being  provided  with  a  protection  that  is 
remarkably  effective. 

The  physalia,  or  Portuguese  man-of-war,  is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  marine  objects  -  -  a  veri- 
table fairy-ship  floating  about  upon  the  ocean ;  a 
bubble  of  satin,  bearing  upon  its  upper  surface  a 
silvery  pink-tipped  sail  which  can  be  raised  and 
lowered  at  will.  No  more  tempting  dainty  could 
be  placed  before  a  hungry  gull  or  sea-bird ;  but 
never  have  I  heard  of  such  an  indulgence.  The 
birds  and  undoubtedly  many  marine  animals  are 
well  aware  that  the  man-of-war,  which  sails  so 
gayly  in  the  breeze,  has  a  defence  of  so  virulent 
a  nature  that  it  can  be  touched  only  with  great 
risk.  I  have  seen  a  physalia  attacked  but  once, 
and  this  was  by  a  young  turtle,  one  unversed  in 
the  study  of  zoology,  or  it  would  never  have  made 
the  attempt  to  dine  on  so  dangerous  a  creature. 
I  discovered  it  floating  on  the  surface,  and  though 
powerful  enough  to  carry  its  coveted  dinner  far 
under  water  it  had  been  thoroughly  overcome. 


140         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

Looking  under  water  the  beautiful  Portuguese 
man-of-war  will  be  seen  to  have  a  dense,  purple- 
hued  train  of  tentacles,  often  seventy-five  feet  in 
length,  while  the  float  itself  is  not  as  large  as  the 
closed  hand.  Under  the  glass  this  richly-hued 
mass  is  seen  to  be  covered  with  little  pores,  or 
cells ;  and  if  we  look  very  closely,  each  cell  will 
be  found  charged  with  a  minute  javelin  twisted 
and  coiled  ;  in  fact,  a  minute  bomb  ready  to  be 
hurled.  Every  portion  of  the  tentacles  are  armed 
with  these  javelins,  and  the  moment  a  foreign  ob- 
ject comes  in  contact  with  them  they  are  dis- 
charged ;  in  other  words,  each  cell  turns  inside 
out,  and  the  little  lasso-like  weapon  is  propelled 
at  the  enemy,  the  combined  effect  of  myriads  often 
producing  a  serious  shock.  Every  bather  on  the 
New  England  coast  has  felt  a  similar  discharge 
when  coming  in  contact  with  the  so-called  sea- 
nettle —  a  species  of  Medusa  commonly  known 
as  sun-fish,  jelly-fish  and  by  other  names. 

All  these  jelly-like  forms  are  protected  in  this 
way,  and  undoubtedly  the  various  marine  animals 
find  out  the  virulence  of  their  stings  and  give 


HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         141 

them  a  wide  berth,  as  so  few  are  known  to  prey 
upon  them.  In  the  summer,  in  the  Gulf  of  Maine, 
the  lump-fish  has  been  observed  taking  a  bite  out 
of  the  centre  of  the  disk,  and  this  is  also  true  of 
the  dog-fish. 

But  the  jelly-fishes  have  one  enemy  upon  which 
the  stings  have  no  effect.  This  is  the  whalebone- 
whale  which  has  a  curious  arrangement  that  en- 
ables it  to  capture  vast  numbers  of  the  jelly-fishes. 

In  a  previous  chapter  I  referred  to  a  shelless 
mollusk,  called  the  Onchidium,  which  consitutes  the 
principal  food  of  a  shore-loving  fish.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  they  are  enabled  to  eject  into  the 
air  a  volley  of  minute  darts  that  would  considera- 
bly astonish  an  enemy  of  small  size.  Whether 
this  is  definitely  true  of  the  Onchidium  it  is  of 
certain  planarian  worms.  The  instant  an  enemy 
touches  them  innumerable  short  barbless  javelins 
are  hurled  into  the  air,  and  that  they  are  capable 
of  entering  the  flesh,  and  causing  an  animal  to 
withdraw,  is  well  known.  These  darts  differ  from 
those  of  the  physalia  and  jelly-fish  in  the  fact  that 
they  are  not  barbed,  and  are  not  retractile  ;  in 


142         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

other  words,  are  discharged  like  so  many  arrows 
into  the  air,  freed  from  the  animal.  Such  a  re- 
markable defence  in  so  lowly  a  creature  cannot 
fail  to  arouse  our  interest. 

In  the  insects  we  find  many  strange  methods  of 
defence.  The  bees  and  wasps  have  the  sting  and 
poison-gland  attached,  which  is  thoroughly  appre- 
ciated by  most  birds  and  by  animals  in  general. 
The  dread  of  these  creatures  is  instinctive,  and 
they  are  avoided  without  previous  experience.  I 
noticed  this  once  in  a  young  hound  I  owned.  It 
was  born  in  the  winter,  and  I  received  it  in  the 
spring  before  the  bees  and  wasps  were  out,  so  that 
it  had  never  seen  either.  In  the  house  it  amused 
itself  by  catching  flies,  large  ones  being  especially 
esteemed;  but  one  day  when  I  captured  a  bee  and 
presented  it,  the  puppy  approached  it  with  the 
greatest  circumspection,  appreciating  immediately 
that  it  had  a  sting,  and,  in  fact,  could  not  be  in- 
duced to  touch  it.  This  caution  was  instinctive, 
or  one  of  the  results  of  inherited  experience. 

A  very  common  method  of  defence  among  in- 
sects is  to  feign   death.     J  have  often  observed 


HOW   ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         143 

this  in  beetles  which  I  had  dug  out  of  an  old  root 
or  stump.  As  soon  as  touched  they  would  coil  up 
their  legs,  or  draw  them  up  as  dead  insects  do, 
and  no  amount  of  handling  could  make  them  give 
any  evidence  of  life.  This  has  been  observed 
throughout  the  entire  animal  kingdom,  and  is 
commonly  known  as  "playing  ''possum,"  as  it  is  a 
device  often  affected  by  opossums  to  deceive  their 
enemies,  human  or  otherwise.  I  have  even  heard 
of  an  instance  among  elephants.  A  herd  of  wild 
elephants  had  been  captured,  and  the  men  were 
at  work  tying  them  when  a  large  tusker  fell  over, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  dead.  The  natives 
made  every  effort  to  resuscitate  it,  and  finally  hav- 
ing convinced  themselves  that  it  was  dead  left  it ; 
but  the  moment  they  were  at  a  safe  distance,  the 
rogue  regained  its  feet,  and  fled  to  the  jungle, 
trumpeting  with  delight  at  the  success  of  its  ruse. 
The  opossum  will  withstand  the  gravest  treatment 
before  acknowledging  itself  alive ;  and  in  it  the 
perfection  of  this  curious  phase  of  protection  is 
seen. 

Many  insects  rely  upon  their  appearance  alone 


144         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

to  terrify  enemies.  Thus  some  of  the  stag-beetles 
present  a  terrible  array  of  spines  upon  their  backs. 
These  spines  cannot  be  used  in  any  way  by  the 
beetles  which  are  harmless  little  creatures ;  but 
the  ponderous  bodies  and  sharp  spines  are  suffi- 
cient to  intimidate  the  boldest  insectivorous  bird. 

The  sword  of  the  sword-fish,  the  serrated  weapon 
of  the  saw-fish,  the  sharp  bill  of  the  gar,  and  the 
whip-like  tail  of  the  rays  with  the  serrated  bony 
stings,  are  all  protective  weapons  that  few  animals 
care  to  encounter  more  than  once.  These  crea- 
tures rarely  flee  from  their  enemies,  relying  upon 
their  various  armaments,  and  are,  comparatively 
speaking,  slow  swimmers. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  find  many  animals,  which 
have  no  special  means  of  defence,  supplied  with 
remarkable  means  of  escape.  The  herrings,  mul- 
let, and  flying-fish  are  examples  of  particularly  de- 
fenceless forms,  which  are  endowed  with  great 
powers  of  speed. 

Among  the  higher  animals  the  kangaroos  pre- 
sent a  remarkable  instance  ;  one  small  individual 
was  so  wonderful  a  leaper  as  to  have  bounded 


HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         145 

over  a  horse  and  rider  in  its  efforts  to  escape. 
This  power  of  leaping  and  bounding  away  is  the 
only  means  of  protection  possessed  by  this  special 
group  of  kangaroos.  Though  at  close  quarters  the 
kangaroo  is  a  formidable  adversary,  with  its  long 
sharp  claws,  when  followed  they  invariably  at- 
tempt to  escape  by  using  their  powerful  hind  legs 
to  force  them  through  the  air  and  over  the  bushes 
at  incredible  speed. 

In  this  country  we  have  jumping-rats  of  several 
kinds,  which  leap  ten  feet  or  more  ;  requiring  a 
very  sharp  pair  of  eyes  to  follow  them.  Under 
this  head,  referring  to  the  method  of  escape,  come 
the  grasshoppers  and  all  leaping  insects.  Their 
limbs  are  enlarged  to  form  powerful  jumping  or- 
gans, with  which  they  hurl  themselves  into  the 
air  regardless  of  direction,  thus  escaping  even  the 
quick-motioned  birds  in  pursuit. 

A  method  of  protection  directly  the  reverse  of 
this,  is  seen  in  certain  moths  and  a  large  variety 
of  animals,  which  when  pursued  settle  upon  the 
ground  and  find  safety  in  their  resemblance  to  the 
stones  or  moss. 


146        HOW   ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

The  great  ant-eater  is  a  slow-motioned  creature, 
and  finds  retreat  from  a  nimble  enemy  impossible; 
yet  when  standing  with  its  huge  tail  over  its  body, 
it  resembles  a  bush,  and  thus  eludes  its  follower. 
So  the  sloth,  clinging  to  the  tree,  utterly  helpless, 
appears  so  like  a  bunch  of  moss  that  it  escapes 
the  notice  of  the  various  eagles  which  delight  in 
preying  upon  it. 

Those  of  my  readers  who  have  kept  butterflies 
and  moths  are  familiar  with  the  wonderful  trans- 
formations through  which  they  pass  before  attain- 
ing the  perfect  form  again.  The  egg  becomes  a 
worm,  and  the  worm  spins  a  cocoon  or  house  in 
which  it  passes  the  retirement  necessary  for  the 
change.  In  the  construction  of  this  cocoon  the 
greatest  care  is  often  taken,  so  that  enemies  may 
not  suspect  its  real  nature.  One  of  the  most  re- 
markable is  formed  by  a  South  American  butterfly, 
and  resembles  a  basket,  between  the  bands  of 
which  is  seen  the  pupa.  From  the  basket  extends 
a  long  silken  line,  in  turn  attached  to  a  twig ;  so 
that  the  animal  has  actually  concealed  itself  in  a 
captive  silken  balloon.  So  light  an  object  is  natu- 


HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         147 

rally  being  continually  blown  about  by  the  wind; 
consequently,  absolute  protection,  or  immunity 
from  the  attack  of  birds  is  found. 

Many  insects  make  their  cocoons  the  exact  tint 
of  the  surface  upon  which  they  are  placed ;  and 
who  has  not  seen  the  wonderful  protection  afforded 
the  egg-case  of  the  mantis  found  on  fences  where 
the  exact  hue  of  the  board  is  simulated  ? 

In  all  these  instances  the  efforts  for  protection 
have  been  employed  against  living  enemies ;  but 
these  are  but  a  few  of  the  dangers  that  beset  the 
inhabitants  of  our  woods  and  streams. 

Jack  Frost,  the  advance  guard  of  winter,  warns 
our  feathered  friends  that  cold  weather  is  ap- 
proaching, and  in  their  actions  at  this  time  is  seen 
one  of  the  most  wonderful  of  all  instinctive  meth- 
ods of  protection.  Throughout  the  summer  days 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  the  hum  of  the  insect 
life  that  has  thronged  the  woods  and  vales ;  but 
the  first  frost  that  signals  the  approach  of  winter 
is  a  warning  of  their  near  departure.  They  dis- 
appear. Some  crawl  into  the  ground  and  bury 
themselves  far  beneath  the  surface ;  every  old 


148         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT   THEMSELVES. 

root  or  tree  being  an  asylum  for  vast  numbers  of 
forms  fleeing  from  the  winter  cold.  By  far  the 
greater  number  are  doomed  to  destruction,  and  in 
their  disappearance  we  see  how  closely  all  nature 
is  bound  together,  as  this  removal  of  insect  life, 
if  no  other  provision  were  made,  would  have  a 
disastrous  effect  upon  the  majority  of  the  three 
billion  birds  which  are  supposed  to  populate  our 
continent,  many  of  whom  depend  upon  insect  food, 
and  are  threatened  with  starvation.  The  grain- 
eaters  also  have  their  supply  cut  off,  as  their  food 
no  longer  stands  in  the  field  protected  by  the 
helpless  scarecrow,  but  has  been  harvested  by  the 
farmer.  So  we  have  an  army  of  birds  utterly  de- 
prived of  food.  To  whom  can  they  look  for  pro- 
tection ? 

Such  a  great  problem  would  not  be  neglected 
by  nature,  and  we  find  that  birds  are  enabled  to 
surmount  the  difficulty.  This  provision  is  "  in- 
stinct ;  "  and  how  wonderful  it  is  we  can  only  real- 
ize when  we  remember  that  it  enables  small  and 
delicate  birds  to  traverse  vast  areas  of  land  and 
water,  often  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  Gulf  of 


I 

X  : 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


HOW   ANIMALS   PROTECT   THEMSELVES.         151 

Mexico  twice  a  year,  and  to  find  their  way  back 
to  the  very  tree  or  spot  that  they  have  previously 
nested  in.  Migration,  then,  is  their  protection 
from  cold  and  hunger,  and  exactly  how  it  is  ac- 
complished is  still  somewhat  of  a  mystery,  though 
many  persons  are  engaged  in  studying  the  ques- 
tion in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 

At  the  first  approach  of  winter  when  the  food 
supply  begins  to  fail,  the  birds  show  signs  of  un- 
usual action.  The  swallows  congregate  in  certain 
trees  for  days  and  sometimes  weeks,  as  if  they 
were  holding  a  meeting  of  the  Bird  Geographical 
Society  to  determine  upon  the  best  route  to  take. 
Day  after  day  these  flocks  are  seen ;  then  finally 
they  will  be  missed,  and  miles  away  to  the  south 
they  may  be  traced,  wending  their  way  to  the 
lands  where  summer  is  present. 

Probably  comparatively  few  have  seen  flocks  of 
migrating  birds,  and  this  is  perhaps  clue  to  the 
fact  that  the  journeys  are  made  at  night.  This 
was  shown  in  a  peculiar  way  some  time  ago  near 
one  of  our  large  cities.  An  astronomer  was  en- 
gaged in  making  some  difficult  observations,  and 


152         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

one  night  he  was  annoyed  by  what  appeared  to  be 
a  succession  of  blurs  or  specks  passing  over  the 
glass.  A  careful  examination  of  the  instrument 
revealed  that  it  was  in  good  condition,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  trouble  was  in  the  air,  and  after 
close  scrutiny  the  black  specks  were  found  to  be 
small  birds  flying  swiftly  at  a  height  of  over  two 
miles  above  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

Since  then  it  has  been  ascertained  that  most  of 
the  migrations  are  undertaken  at  night,  the  bird 
tragedies  that  occur  at  lighthouses  telling  the 
story.  Hardly  a  night  in  the  spring  and  fall 
months  of  the  year  but  numbers  of  birds  of  all 
kinds  are  lured  to  their  destruction  by  the  vivid 
light  from  the  beacons  that  are  protection  and 
warning  to  human  travellers.  Mr.  William  Brew- 
ster,  a  Boston  naturalist  in  charge  of  the  bird-de- 
partment in  the  Agassiz  Museum,  spent  nearly 
seven  weeks  making  night  observations  at  Point 
Lepreaux  lighthouse,  New  Brunswick,  on  the  west 
shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  the  results  shed 
a  vast  amount  of  light  upon  the  subject,  though 
they  tell  a  sad  story  of  the  mishaps  of  our  feath- 


HOW   ANIMALS    PROTECT  THEMSELVES.         153 

ered  friends  during  their  journeys.     Mr.  Brewster 
says  in  a  communication  to  the  Nuttall  Club  : 

The  first  "rush"  occurred  on  the  night  of  September  i, 
and  for  the  two  weeks  following,  the  feathered  tide  flowed 
swiftly  and  more  or  less  steadily,  marking  its  course  through 
the  star-lit  heavens  by  the  incessant  chirping  of  its  passing 
legions,  in  thick  weather  surging  confusedly  about  the  light, 
wrecking  many  a  bird-life  against  the  fatal  shaft,  and  at 
daybreak  leaving  hundreds  of  tired  little  travellers  stranded 
in  the  scanty  covers  of  the  Point. 

This  was  a  remarkable  exhibition,  but  a  few 
nights  later  Mr.  Brewster  observed  from  the  Light 
a  scene  that  few  have  witnessed  —  a  veritable  rain 
of  birds  which  he  thus  describes : 

At  the  height  of  the  melee  the  scene  was  interesting  and 
impressive  beyond  almost  anything  that  I  ever  witnessed. 
Above,  the  inky  black  sky ;  on  all  sides,  dense  wreaths  of 
fog  scudding  swiftly  past  and  completely  enveloping  the  sea 
which  moaned  dismally  at  the  base  of  the  cliffs  below;  about 
the  top  of  the  tower,  a  belt  of  light  projected  some  thirty 
yards  into  the  mist  by  the  powerful  reflectors;  and  in  this 
belt  swarms  of  birds  circling,  floating,  soaring,  now  advanc- 
ing, next  retreating,  but  never  quite  able,  as  it  seemed,  to 
throw  off  the  spell  of  the  fatal  lantern.  Their  rapidly 
vibrating  wings  made  a  haze  about  their  forms  which  in  the 
strong  light  looked  semi-transparent.  At  a  distance  all  ap- 
peared of  a  pale,  silvery  gray  color,  nearer  of  a  rich  yellow. 
They  reminded  me  by  turns  of  meteors,  gigantic  moths, 


154        HOW   ANIMALS   PROTECT   THEMSELVES. 

swallows  with  sunlight  streaming  through  their  wings.  I 
could  not  watch  them  for  any  length  of  time  without  becom- 
ing dizzy  and  bewildered.  When  the  wind  blew  strongly 
they  circled  around  to  leeward,  breasting  it  in  a  dense  throng, 
which  drifted  backward  and  forward,  up  and  down,  like  a 
swarm  of  gnats  dancing  in  the  sunshine.  Dozens  were  con- 
tinually leaving  this  throng  and  skimming  toward  the  lan- 
tern. As  they  approached  they  invariably  soared  upward, 
and  those  which  started  on  a  level  with  the  platform  usually 
passed  above  the  roof.  Others  sheered  off  at  the  last  mo- 
ment, and  shot  by  with  arrow-like  swiftness,  while  more 
rarely  one  would  stop  abruptly,  and  poising  a  few  feet  from 
the  glass,  inspect  the  lighted  space  within.  Often,  for  a 
minute  or  more,  not  a  bird  would  strike.  Then,  as  if  seized 
by  a  panic,  they  would  come  against  the  glass  so  rapidly 
and  in  such  numbers  that  the  sound  of  their  blows  resem- 
bled the  pattering  of  hail.  Many  struck  the  tin  roof  above 
the  light,  others  the  iron  railing  which  enclosed  the  plat- 
form, while  others  pelted  me  on  the  back,  arms,  and  legs, 
and  one  actually  became  hopelessly  entangled  in  my  beard. 

Why  the  birds  should  select  the  night  for  their 
migrations  would  seem  difficult  to  understand,  es- 
pecially as  if  taking  land-marks  as  their  guide 
they  could  not  see  them  as  well  as  during  the  day. 
But  during  the  daytime  they  must  feed,  and  the 
presence  of  human  enemies  may  prevent  their  pas- 
sage in  large  conspicuous  bodies ;  so  that,  as  a 
rule,  the  onward  march  is  made  after  nightfall. 


HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         155 

During  the  fall  a  vast  army  of  birds  is  moving 
South,  impelled  by  this  wonderful  instinct,  and 
undoubtedly  guided  by  means  of  their  habits  of 
observation.  Those  who  have  made  an  ascension 
in  a  balloon  to  a  lofty  height  have  noticed  how 
plainly  the  great  natural  features  of  the  country 

• 

are  seen  even  at  night.  The  valleys,  the  moun- 
tain-chains and  coast-lines  are  easily  distinguished, 
and  the  bird  rivers,  as  they  may  be  termed,  follow 
these  guides. 

At  one  time  for  six  weeks  I  watched  the  flight 

o 

of  the  sand-hill  cranes  in  Southern  California  in 
their  Northern  migration;  thousands  passing  over- 
head daily,  sometimes  almost  within  rifle-shot,  and 
again  two  miles  above  the  sea,  following  the  Sierra 
Madre  range.  Each  successive  flock  took  the 
same  course  midway  between  the  summit  and  base 
of  the  range. 

At  this  same  time  thirty  miles  west  immense 
throngs  of  ducks  and  geese  were  following  up  the 
coast-line,  finding  there  numerous  swamps  and 
marshes  in  which  to  rest  and  feed. 

It  is  evident  that  in  fleeing  from  the  cold  many 


156         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

dangers  are  experienced,  especially  by  the  birds 
which  follow  the  coast-lines.  Off-shore  gales  often 
carry  them  far  out  to  sea,  and  they  are  lost.  Not 
a  ship  coming  into  port  from  a  European  cruise 
but  can  report  the  appearance  far  out  from  land 
of  one  or  more  birds,  so  wearied  with  their  long 
flight  over  the  waste  of  water  that  they  did  not 
exhibit  the  slightest  fear.  Sometimes  it  is  an 
eagle  or  a  large  hawk,  but,  as  a  rule,  small  shore- 
birds;  and  the  extent  to  which  they  are  blown  from 
the  land  is  well  shown  in  the  Bahama  Islands, 
where  every  spring  and  fall  numbers  of  migrating 
birds  are  observed. 

At  Garden  Key,  a  coral  island,  on  the  extreme 
outer  point  of  the  United  States,  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  I  have  seen  many  of  our  common  birds, 
as  the  cuckoo  and  others.  They  would  appear 
suddenly,  and  sometimes  the  trees  would  be  filled 
with  them,  usually  after  a  heavy  norther,  showing 
that  the  little  creatures  must  have  flown  entirely 
across  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  probably  from  Texas 
or  some  of  the  Gulf  States,  without  a  rest- -a 
wonderful  evidence  of  their  power  of  endurance. 


HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         157 

Some  of  the  smallest  birds  undertake  the  most 
extended  flights.  Thus  a  little  warbler  (Dendroecd) 
ventures  in  summer  to  the  edge  of  the  Arctic  Sea, 
returning  far  South  to  escape  the  extremes  of  win- 
ter. Our  common  robins  are  also  found  there, 
and  the  regularity  with  which  they  find  their  way 
back  to  the  orchards  of  their  choice  is  remarkable. 
In  one  instance  that  I  know  of  the  robin  returned 
on  several  successive  years  within  a  few  hours  of 
the  time,  and  not  only  built  in  the  same  tree,  but 
occupied  the  very  limb  and  corner,  piling  a  new 
nest  upon  the  old  until  four  were  seen. 

A  gentleman  who  has  spent  many  years  upon 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  informed  me 
that  he  had  often  seen  birds  reach  the  European 
shore,  having  made  the  flight  from  Africa,  so 
fatigued  that  they  dropped  upon  the  beach  utterly 
exhausted,  and  could  be  picked  up. 

These  migrations  are  taken  advantage  of  by  the 
bird-fanciers  who  frequent  localities  where  quail 
are  known  to  land.  As  the  birds  alight  in  flocks 
utterly  unable  to  move,  a  net  is  lowered  down 
upon  them,  and  they  are  secured. 


158         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT   THEMSELVES. 

Certain  birds  escape  the  rigors  of  winter,  and 
succeed,  according  to  a  European  naturalist,  in 
crossing  the  Mediterranean  at  the  expense  of 
others.  A  stork  was  the  victim  in  the  instance 
observed,  the  little  birds  clustering  about  and 
finally  alighting  upon  its  back,  so  obtaining  a  ride 
across  the  sea.  I,  myself,  have  seen  a  gull  stand- 
ing upon  the  back  of  a  pelican  while  the  latter 
was  swimming  about ;  but  that  a  bird  should  board 
a  flying  stork  and  take  free  passage  to  Africa  is 
certainly  remarkable. 

The  lanes  of  bird  migration  in  Europe  are  sim- 
ilar to  those  in  this  country,  and  on  the  island  of 
Heligoland,  which  lies  in  the  path  of  this  great 
river  of  birds,  thousands  of  feathered  travellers  of 
all  kinds  are  often  seen  in  the  spring  and  fall, 
and  at  night  clouds  of  them  congregate  about  the 
Light,  of  such  density  as  to  nearly  obscure  the  rays. 

Among  the  animals  which  do  not  migrate  we 
find  some  curious  methods  of  protection.  Thus 
the  ptarmigan  and  several  other  animals  change 
their  color  with  the  seasons ;  in  the  summer  hav- 
ing a  dark  plumage  or  fur,  and  when  winter  comes, 


HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         159 

and  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow,  assuming  a 
coat  of  the  same  pure  white,  making  them  equally 
inconspicuous  to  friend  or  foe. 

Some  years  ago  I  received  a  number  of  crabs 
intended  for  an  aquarium,  and  before  placing  them 
in  their  prison  I  took  a  stiff  brush  and  rejuvenated 
them,  so  to  speak,  by  removing  all  the  sea-weed 
with  which  they  were  thickly  covered,  and  in  this 
condition  dropped  them  into  the  tank,  which  was 
evidently  not  to  their  taste  ;  being,  with  its  four 
glass  sides,  much  too  bright  and  cheerful,  and 
rendering  them  entirely  too  conspicuous.  While 
watching  their  deliberate  yet  frantic  efforts,  for 
they  were  slow  movers,  to  effect  concealment,  I 
became  witness  to  a  very  ingenious  and  effective 
mode  of  protection.  The  crabs,  one  and  all, 
crawled  in  the  direction  of  a  pile  of  moss-covered 
rock,  and  lodged  themselves  in  the  various  nooks 
and  corners ;  but  still  with  their  polished  backs 
they  presented  a  decided  contrast  to  the  rocks. 
While  I  watched  them  one  large  crab  reached  its 
long  biting  claw  out,  and  with  great  deliberation 
severed  a  bit  of  sea-weed  from  the  rocks  and  con- 


\B 

OF 

TJNIVEF 


l6o         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

veyecl  it  to  its  mouth.  It  was  evident  then,  I 
thought,  that  they  had  not  lost  their  appetites  by 
being  subjected  to  such  unusual  treatment ;  but 
in  a  moment  more  I  found  that  the  morsel  was 
not  intended  as  food,  for  it  was  conveyed  by  an 
overhand  or  claw-movement  from  the  mouth  to 
the  back,  pressed  upon  it  and  curiously  enough, 
remaining  there  as  if  growing.  Another  piece  of 
alga  was  then  taken  and  the  same  operation  was 
repeated,  and  I  now  saw  that  all  the  crabs  were 
diligently  at  work  in  the  same  way;  in  short,  were 
forming  a  plantation  of  sea-weed  upon  their  backs, 
thus  rapidly  creating  a  resemblance  between  them- 
selves and  the  moss-covered  rocks  among:  which 

o 

they  were  hiding.  In  a  remarkably  short  space 
of  time  the  resemblance  was  complete,  and  they 
were  effectually  concealed,  and  few  hungry  fishes 
would  have  suspected  that  beneath  these  waving 
branches  rested  a  good  breakfast. 

The  severed  portion  of  the  weed  was  undoubt- 
edly pressed  to  the  mouth  to  receive  some  gelati- 
nous substance  that  effectually  cemented  the  branch 
to  the  back,  where  it  grew  and  flourished. 


.  HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES.         l6l 

On  many  Japanese  articles  is  figured  a  little 
turtle  which  finds  protection  in  a  similar  manner. 
It  was  once  my  good  fortune  to  see  one  of  these 
little  oddities.  It  was  called  by  its  owner  a  hairy 
turtle,  the  hair  being  a  long  graceful  train  of  dark- 
green  sea-weed  that  almost  completely  concealed 
it;  giving  it  a  very  peculiar  appearance  when 
swimming  (which  it  did  with  difficulty)  and  serv- 
ing as  a  perfect  disguise  or  protection. 

Quite  a  number  of  animals  seek  to  mislead  their 
enemies  in  this  way.  One,  a  large  univalve,  se- 
lects shells  and  fastens  them  to  its  own  so  firmly 
that  they  become  a  part  of  it.  Various  worms  in 
a  like  manner  decorate  or  embellish  their  tubes ; 
working  in  bits  of  shell  and  weed  that  afford 
them  a  thorough  protection. 

The  common  star-fish  of  the  Eastern  shore,  and 
particularly  the  echinus,  has  a  habit  of  piling  bits 
of  shell  upon  its  back  or  spines,  probably  as  a 
concealment;  yet  the  little  creatures  are  extremely 
careful  to  prevent  the  advance  of  an  enemy,  and 
if  a  bit  of  foreign  matter  becomes  lodged  on  the 
spines  it  is  very  quickly  removed.  How  this  is 


162         HOW    ANIMALS    PROTECT    THEMSELVES. 

possible  when  the  echinus  is  without  hands  is 
somewhat  of  a  mystery ;  but  if  we  apply  a  power- 
ful glass  to  the  surface  of  the  animal  we  shall  see 
numbers  of  pincer-like  bodies,  called  pedicellariae, 
among  the  spines.  They  are  really  hands,  or 
three-jawed  pincers  mounted  on  short  stems,  and 
their  purpose  is  to  free  the  surface  of  the  echinus 
of  any  disagreeable  intruder.  Such  an  object  is 
seized  by  the  little  calcareous  jaws,  passed  down 
from  one  to  the  other  and  finally  dropped  off. 

The  efforts  of  animals  in  protecting  each  other 
would  form  an  interesting  chapter.  An  injured 
gull  has  been  seen  borne  off  by  two  comrades  out 
of  reach  of  a  gunner ;  the  two  friends  each  taking 
their  wounded  companion  by  the  tip  of  the  wing, 
and  so  flying  away.  A  hawk  has  been  known  to 
dart  at  a  boy's  kite  and  tear  it  in  pieces,  thinking 
it  some  enemy  that  menaced  its  mate  or  young. 

And  so  throughout  all  nature  we  find  that  while 
the  various  animals  are  destined  to  prey  one  upon 
another,  they  have  been  provided  with  means  of 
protection  and  defence  generally  sufficient  to 
equalize  the  struggle  for  existence. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE   GUARDIANS   OF   THE   MOOSE. 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

O  some  our  feath- 
ered friends  ap- 
pear to  have  no 
avocation  beyond 
adding  to  the  at- 
tractions of  field 
and  forest  with 
their  song,  the 
grace  of  their  flitting  forms  and  the  beauty  of  their 
plumage  ;  but  all  birds  have  a  certain  work  to  per- 
form, and  for  this  they  are  perfectly  adapted  and 
gifted. 

In  their  relation  to  man  their  importance  can 
hardly  be  overestimated.  They  are  the  allies  of 
the  farmer  and  horticulturist.  Even  those  con- 
sidered depredators  often  carry  seeds  from  one 

163 


164  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

locality  to  another,  thus  assisting  in  planting  and 
rendering  populous  areas  which  without  vegetation 
would  fail  to  support  human  life. 

Without  dwelling  upon  this  phase  of  bird-work 
I  may  mention  one  instance  showing  the  amount 
of  seed-transportation  that  is  thus  carried  on. 
Some  years  ago  the  Dutch  government  at  the 
Moluccas  decided  to  destroy  all  the  nutmeg  groves 
except  on  the  island  of  Great  Banda.  This  was 
carried  into  execution ;  but  the  next  year,  to  their 
surprise,  they  found  myriads  of  new  trees  shoot- 
ing up  all  over  the  islands.  Investigation  showed 
the  new  forests  to  be  growing  from  seeds  carried 
by  fruit-pigeons  from  Great  Banda,  and  every 
year  after  this  the  government  was  obliged  to 
send  out  a  commission  to  the  islands  to  destroy 
the  seedlings  thus  planted.  The  birds  not  only 
transported  nutmegs,  but  coffee  and  other  seeds ; 
and  in  various  parts  of  the  world  we  shall  rind 
that  they  have  been  a  prominent  factor  in  render- 
ing barren  localities  habitable  for  man. 

To  show  some  of  the  curious  relationships  that 
exist  between  birds  and  animals  in  entirely  differ- 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  165 

ent  walks  of  life  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  is  the  guar- 
dianship exercised  by  certain  birds  over  various 
large  animals,  the  latter  admitting  a  familiarity 
that  is  often  obtrusive,  but  permitting  it,  well 
knowing  that  the  birds  are  their  friends.  Of  the 
several  benefits  obtained  by  the  larger  animals 
from  this  association  is  immunity  from  surprise ; 
the  birds  being  veritable  sentinels,  standing  guard 
with  all  the  vigilance  of  veterans,  and  announcing 
loudly  to  their  lordly  companions  the  slightest 
semblance  of  danger. 

In  Canada,  and  occasionally  in  the  northern 
part  of  Maine,  is  found  the  great  moose,  prized  by 
the  sportsman  as  a  trophy,  and  hunted  for  food 
by  the  woodsman  of  the  far  North.  Once  when  a 
party  of  hunters  were  following  a  trail  in  the 
northern  country,  they  observed  the  tracks  of  one 
of  these  animals  and  began  carefully  to  trace  it, 
hoping  to  secure  the  great  game.  They  moved 

v 

slowly  on  for  some  time  when  suddenly  they  were 
startled  by  a  number  of  Canada  jays  which  rose 
into  the  air,  fluttering  their  wings,  and  uttering 


l66  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

discordant  cries.  Their  motions  were  so  remark- 
able that  the  hunters  stopped,  thinking  that  per- 
haps the  birds  were  engaged  in  a  battle,  and  being 
naturalists  they  wished  to  see  the  result.  As  they 
took  seats  upon  the  ground  the  birds  all  suddenly 
dropped  together. 

Determined  to  learn  the  occasion  of  this  ma- 
noeuvre, one  of  the  hunters  made  a  detour,  and 
ascended  a  rock  which  overlooked  the  spot.  As 
he  peered  over  the  edge  he  saw  to  his  astonish- 
ment an  enormous  moose  lying  upon  the  pine 
needles  evidently  fast  asleep,  while  all  about, 
upon  its  horns,  ears,  and  back,  the  large  birds 
were  standing  or  running  about.  He  watched  the 
performance  for  some  minutes,  and  then  having  a 
fair  shot  rose  and  prepared  to  fire.  But  the 
warning  of  the  sentinels  proved  effectual,  for  at 
the  same  instant  the  moose  sprang  to  its  feet  and 
dashed  off,  escaping  the  ball  intended  for  it. 

In  Central  America  wild  cattle  are  attended 
by  a  curious  bird  called  the  ani,  which  performs 
for  them  a  similar  service,  often  clinging  to  them 
in  great  numbers.  As  they  have  a  singular  habit 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  167 

of  tipping  up  their  tails  and  assuming  various  atti- 
tudes expressive  of  surprise  or  other  emotion,  the 
back  of  an  ox  frequently  presents  the  appearance 
of  a  mimic  stage,  upon  which  feathered  acrobats 
or  contortionists  are  performing  their  feats. 

It  is  in  Africa,  the  Dark  Continent,  that  we  find 
the  most  remarkable  examples  of  this  phase  of 
bird-usefulness.  In  this  wonderful  country  of 
mystery  and  surprises  have  been  found  many  large 
animals  attended  by  remarkably  vigilant  sentinels, 
and  where  the  great  game  is  hunted  by  man  they 
are  of  exceeding  value  to  their  huge  consorts. 

One  of  the  most  familiar  birds  which  seem  born 
sentinels,  is  known  to  naturalists  as  Buphaga,  the 
common  name  being  ox-biter  or  ox-pecker,  from 
the  belief  of  the  natives  that  the  birds  nip  and 
bite  their  oxen,  which  they  undoubtedly  sometimes 
do.  One  of  the  most  attractive  of  these  feathered 
sentinels  is  the  red-beaked  ox-biter,  Biiphagns 
erythrorhynchus,  a  bird  about  the  size  of  our  com- 
mon robin,  a  little  larger,  and  more  robust,  and 
withal  a  very  jaunty  fellow,  with  a  red  beak,  as  its 
name  indicates,  and  a  sharp  eye  of  flaming  gold ; 


1 68  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

even  the  eyelids  partaking  of  the  vivid  hue.  Its 
back  feathers  are  a  grayish-brown,  while  the  under 
ones  grade  to  a  light  yellow.  For  generations 
these  birds  have  acted  as  sentinels  to  such  large 
animals  as  the  camel,  ox,  hippopotamus,  elephant, 
and  especially  the  rhinoceros,  one  of  their  names 
being  "  the  rhinoceros-bird ; "  and  while  we  may 
appreciate  the  little  creature's  attempts  to  protect 
and  warn  their  great  friend  they  are  a  source  of 
great  annoyance  to  the  hunter,  who,  after  following 
an  animal  for  hours  over  a  rough  country,  under 
an  eqiiatorial  sun,  finds  that  he  has  been  spied  out 
by  the  sentinel  who  gives  his  warning,  which,  like 
the  "  all's  well "  of  the  human  soldier,  is  passed 
from  throat  to  throat  —  only  in  this  case  it  is  "  all's 
wrong!" — until  a  perfect  chorus  of  cries  warns 
the  rhinoceros  to  be  off. 

The  rhinoceros-bird,  when  upon  the  white 
species,  presents  a  curious  contrast.  Sometimes  a 
flock  of  two  dozen  are  seen  running  over  its  body  ; 
clinging  to  the  tail  or  ears,  or  upon  its  sides  like  a 
woodpecker  to  the  bark  of  a  tree,  the  rugosities 
of  the  animal's  hide  affording  an  equally  fine  cling- 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  169 

ing  surface.  Oftentimes  they  perch  upon  the 
horn  of  the  animal,  and  again  both  horns  and  the 
ears  are  utilized  by  the  sentinels  as  perches. 
This  bird  is  frequently  seen  upon  the  Cape  ox, 
which  is  considered  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
game-animals  in  Africa.  They  not  only  follow 
them,  alighting  upon  their  horns,  heads,  and  every 
available  portion,  but  when  a  herd  of  tame  cattle 
are  unharnessed  and  released,  the  birds,  which 
have  been  watching  proceedings  from  some  neigh- 
boring tree,  pounce  clown  upon  them,  and  soon 
each  ox  has  its  quota  of  vigilant  sentinels,  and 
they  have  again  and  again  been  known  to  warn 
the  tame  animals  of  the  approach  of  lions,  and  so 
saved  them.  New  cattle,  which  have  never  been 
into  the  interior,  are  often  alarmed  at  first  at  this 
seeming  attack  of  birds,  and  rush  about,  tossing 
their  heads  to  avoid  them  ;  but  as  soon  as  they 
discover  that  they  intend  no  harm  they  submit 
quietly  to  their  presence. 

It  would  be  only  natural  that  other  animals  be- 
sides those  which  permit  the  birds  to  alight  upon 
them,  should  take  advantage  of  the  warnings. 


170  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

Drummond,  an  African  traveller,  records  an  in- 
stance of  this.  He  had  been  following  a  water 
antelope  which  was  sorely  needed  for  food,  for 
some  time,  and  at  last  had  reached  a  spot  where 
he  expected  to  obtain  a  shot ;  but  as  he  crept 
along  followed  by  his  attendant  he  was  suddenly 
espied  by  a  group  of  red-beaked  rhinoceros-birds, 
which  were  sitting  on  the  head  of  a  Cape  ox  not 
far  off.  They  at  once  rose  in  a  body,  shrieking 
and  screaming  their  harsh  warning  cry  of  "  tcha, 
tcha"  It  was  heeded  first  by  the  water  antelope, 
concealed  near  by,  which  dashed  off,  the  Cape  ox 
quickly  following  suit. 

The  benefit  of  this  bird-guardianship  to  these 
animals  can  hardly  be  estimated,  as  even  when 
awake  a  native  hunter  could  by  careful  manceuver- 
ing  approach  them  from  leeward,  and  when  asleep 
could  draw  near  with  perfect  security  were  it  not 
for  the  feathered  guard. 

That  the  birds  have  some  attachment  for  their 
huge  friends  there  can  be  little  doubt,  and  the 
account  of  hunters  reminds  me  of  the  fish  remora 
which  I  have  often  taken  when  catching  sharks  in 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  171 

Southern  waters,  the  attendant  fishes  fastening 
themselves  to  their  great  consort,  and  allowing 
themselves  to  be  hauled  entirely  out  of  water  with 
it.  So  with  the  rhinoceros-bird.  In  an  instance 
where  a  rhinoceros  was  chased  for  some  time  by 
a  hunter  on  horseback,  the  birds  not  only  followed 

J 

on,  but  clung  to  the  creature's  hide,  though  re- 
peatedly brushed  off  by  the  trees ;  and  when 
the  animal  was  finally  shot  they  remained  near. 
When  the  hunters  approached  the  next  morning 
the  faithful  little  creatures  were  still  clustered 
about  their  dead  companion,  and  as  the  natives 
drew  nearer,  they  brushed  their  wings  in  its  face, 
«and  used  every  endeavor  to  awaken  it,  evidently 
believing  it  asleep,  and  retiring  only  when  the 
men  took  possession. 

Besides  the  ox-biter  a  small  white  crane  often 
alights  upon  the  back  of  hippopotami,  rhinoceroses 
and  elephants.  A  dozen  or  more  of  these  beauti- 
ful birds  have  been  seen  standing  upon  the  back 
of  an  animal  in  the  middle  of  a  river ;  their  eagle 
eyes  alert  for  any  possible  enemy  that  might  ap- 
pear. They  utter  no  sound  when  danger  is  nigh, 


172  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

merely  rising ;  the  flapping  of  their  wings  being  a 
sufficient  warning.  The  contrast  between  these 
pure  white  birds  and  the  dark  skin  of  an  elephant 
or  rhinoceros  is  very  marked,  and  is  a  sight  to 
be  seen  only  in  the  solitudes  of  the  Dark  Continent. 

The  wattled  starling  is  almost  equally  valuable 
as  a  sentinel,  clinging  to  the  sides  of  cattle,  and 
uttering  vigorous  protests  at  the  approach  of  an 
enemy  or  intruder. 

It  would  seem  quite  remarkable  that  birds 
should  act  as  sentinels  to  large  quadrupeds ;  but, 
stranger  yet,  we  find  several  which  appear  to  hold 
this  office  in  the  interests  of  their  own  kind.  An 
interesting  instance  was  observed  by  a  naturalist 
in  North  Africa.  He  was  wandering  through  the 
forest  in  search  of  game,  when  he  noticed  a  large 
number  of  beautiful  copper-colored  fly-catchers 
(Lamprotornis)  dart  into  the  air,  uttering  loud 
cries.  Concealing  himself,  and  peering  through 
the  bushes,  he  witnessed  a  most  ludicrous  and 
strange  sight.  The  open  place  beyond  him  was 
filled  with  a  larger  body  of  storks,  Sphenorhynchus 
aldimii,  grave,  grotesque  fellows,  each  of  which 


->fc 

y^Mltl) 


r 

a  A  \.  ^^5^~ .  V         < 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  175 

bore  upon  its  back  or  head  a  copper-colored  little 
bird,  which  every  now  and  then  darted  to  the 
ground,  immediately  returning  to  its  perch.  The 
large  birds  were  moving  solemnly  along  in  a  regu- 
lar phalanx,  each  with  its  rider,  their  object  being 
the  locusts  which  they  devoured  as  they  marched. 
After  watching  this  curious  sight  for  some  time 
the  observer  showed  himself  in  the  bushes,  when 
the  fly-catchers  gave  the  warning,  and  big  birds 
and  little  immediately  took  wing  and  flew  away. 

In  South  America  we  fine  a  curious  bird,  the 
spur-winged  chauna,  Chauna  chauvaria,  which  is 
not  only  a  sentinel  but  when  domesticated  a  veri- 
table watch  dog ;  showing  remarkable  pugnacity 
when  the  safety  of  any  of  its  friends  is  threatened. 
Its  voice  is  so  loud,  discordant,  and  piercing,  that 
it  is  called  "  the  screamer."  Its  cry  alone  is  suffi- 
cient to  demoralize  an  ordinary  enemy,  but  besides 
this,  the  screamer  has  a  wonderful  defence  —  two 
spurs,  or  horns,  upon  each  wing,  pointing  forward, 
with  which  it  can  strike  a  powerful  and  lacerating 
blow.  The  natives  of  South  and  Central  America 
recognize  this  peculiarity  in  the  bird,  and  take  it 


176  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

when  young  and  bring  it  up  in  the  poultry-yard 
where  it  forms  an  efficient  guard  against  hawks 
and  other  predatory  animals.  It  will  not  retreat 
even  before  the  puma;  advancing  with  such  a 
ferocious  mien  that  even  the  great  cat  is  often 
routed.  Shepherds  employ  them  about  their 
flocks,  and  several  "  screamers '  have  been  seen 
standing  before  a  lamb  which  was  threatened  by  a 
puma,  and  by  their  screams  awakening  the  shep- 
herds from  their  siesta  to  come  to  the  rescue. 

Some  years  ago  a  story  was  reported  by  a  natu- 
ralists which  taxed  the  credulity  of  every  one  who 
heard  it,  describing  the  actions  of  a  feathered 
sentinel.  The  story  was  that  the  great  hornbill, 
the  grotesque  bird  with  enormous  beaks,  so  famil- 
iar in  all  collections  of  African  birds,  imprisoned 
its  mate  at  certain  seasons,  and  became  a  self- 
appointed  sentinel.  This  is  now  known  to  be 
true  ;  and  not  only  of  one  species  but  several,  in 
Africa  and  the  East  India  Islands.  When  the 
breeding-season  approaches,  the  female  seeks  a 
suitable  location  for  a  nest,  generally  in  a  hollow 
tree.  In  this  some  feathers,  and  perhaps  twigs, 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  177 

are  placed  to  make  a  rude  nest,  and  here  the 
female  bird  takes  her  place.  No  sooner  has  she 
stepped  into  the  home  of  her  future  brood  than 
her  mate  proceeds  to  wall  up  the  opening  by 
bringing  mud  and  earth  in  its  capacious  bill. 
This  is  plastered  on,  bit  by  bit,  much  after  the 
manner  of  the  swallow,  until  the  hole  is  closed  up 
completely,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  orifice 
through  which  Madam  Hornbill  is  to  receive  her 
food.  The  partition  soon  hardens  in  the  sun,  and 
the  bird  is  a  prisoner,  guarded  by  the  male  who 
perches  upon  a  convenient  limb  ;  and  let  no  one 
accuse  him  of  neglecting  to  supply  his  mate,  as  by 
the  time  the  term  of  imprisonment  has  expired  he 
is  in  a  doleful  condition  physically,  having  to  pro- 
vide a  double  portion  of  food,  and  often  sacrificing 
his  own  to  the  wants  of  his  ravenous  mate.  This 
surveillance  is  kept  up  until  the  young  hornbill  is 
hatched  and  partially  fledged,  when  the  nest  is 
torn  away  and  the  mother  emerges. 

In  the  case  of  a  two-horned  hornbill,  Buceros 
Ucornis,  observed  by  Mr.  C.  Home,  the  female 
closed  up  the  orifice  from  the  inside  with  material 


178  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

which  she  had  brought  up  from  the  bottom  of  the 
hole.  The  plastering  was  done  by  using  the  bill 
sidewise,  back  and  forth,  like  a  trowel.  There 
was  no  limb  near  the  hole  for  the  male  to  alight 
upon,  so  he  clung  to  the  bark  in  feeding  her  like 
a  woodpecker.  While  the  hornbills  have  short 
wings  they  make  a  remarkable  sound  in  flying  ;  in 
fact,  one  can  be  heard  a  mile  away,  and  several 
make  a  noise  like  a  steam  engine. 

The  natives  have  long  been  familiar  with  this 
habit  of  the  hornbill,  and  readily  recognize  a  tree 
containing  a  nest  by  the  wall  built  over  the  hole, 
which,  however,  is  so  skilfully  done  that  it  readily 
escapes  the  notice  of  a  European.  This  domestic 
drama  sometimes  ends  in  tragedy,  as  it  not  un- 
frequently  happens  that  the  male  bird  is  so  com- 
pletely exhausted  by  its  efforts  to  supply  its  mate 
with  food  that  it  falls  a  victim  to  rigorous  weather 
and  drops,  dead  at  the  door  of  its  home,  thus 
serving  as  a  telltale  to  some  passing  native,  who, 
glancing  up,  espies  the  nest,  and  soon  captures 
the  plump  and  unwieldy  mother-bird. 

The  hornbills  are  remarkable  creatures  even  in 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  179 

appearance.  The  body  is  large,  legs  and  neck 
rather  short,  and  the  coloring  sombre,  except  the 
tip  of  the  wing  and  tail,  which  are  white.  They 
vary  in  size,  the  largest  being  as  large  as  a  hen 
turkey.  The  head  is  the  most  remarkable  feature, 
being  provided  with  a  bill  so  prodigious  that  one 
might  well  believe  it  to  have  been  intended  for  a 
bird  of  prey,  instead  of  a  simple  fruit  eater.  The 
so-called  horns  are  enormous  cellular  horny  growths 
upon  the  head,  which  in  some  species  give  it  the 
appearance  of  having  two  bills.  So  loud  and  res- 
onant is  the  voice  of  this  bird  that  it  was  sup- 
posed at  one  time  that  the  sound  was  accelerated 
by  passing  into  the  "  horns."  But  this  has  no 
foundation  in  fact ;  the  growth  being  merely  a 
part  of  the  ornamental  configuration  of  the  bird, 
perhaps  intended  to  frighten  its  enemies  by  giving 
it  a  formidable  appearance. 

In  riding  over  the  mesa  of  the  San  Gabriel 
Valley  (Southern  California)  I  have  often  encoun- 
tered a  bird  which  if  not  a  sentinel  is  a  soldier  or 
engineer  of  such  remarkable  sagacity  that  it 
deserves  mention  here.  When  I  first  observed  it, 


I  So  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

I  was  galloping  through  some  sage-brush  inter- 
spersed here  and  there  with  prickly  pear,  and  the 
bird  darted  out  directly  under  my  horse's  feet,  and 
ran  along  so  near  that  at  first  I  thought  I  could 
catch  it  by  reaching  down  from  the  saddle.  But 
as  I  increased  my  speed,  so  did  the  bird,  and 
soon  we  were  in  a  wild  race  ;  the  bird  running 
with  remarkable  celerity,  keeping  in  the  clearing 
for  some  distance,  but  finally  when  closely  pressed 
taking  to  a  dense  patch  of  prickly  pear,  at  the 
edge  of  which  I  reined  in  my  horse  and  gave  up 
the  chase  ;  and  though  I  have  seen  it  stated  that 
the  bird  can  be  run  down  on  horseback  I  doubt  if 
it  can  be  done  in  the  San  Gabriel  Valley. 

The  bird  was  the  chaparral  cock,  or  road-runner, 
Geococcyx  calif ornianus,  one  of  the  most  attractive 
birds  in  its  strange  markings  found  in  this  country, 
having  a  curious  bald  orange-colored  spot  back  of 
the  eyes  which  are  remarkably  fierce  and  brilliant. 
I  was  familiar  with  the  current  story  of  the  road- 
runner  which  I  rather  doubted,  but  I  succeeded 
in  finding  two  persons  of  veracity  who  confirmed 
it.  It  seems  that  the  bird  in  certain  parts  of  the 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  l8l 

country  builds  its  nest  in  the  vicinity  of  the  cactus 
or  prickly  pear,  and  as  it  entertains  a  morbid 
antipathy  to  the  rattlesnake,  and  also  esteems  it 
as  an  article  of  food,  it  endeavors  at  every  oppor- 
tunity to  destroy  it,  and  in  the  following  way,  as 
described  by  my  informant.  In  the  instance  he 
observed  two  birds,  evidently  male  and  female, 
were  at  work.  They  had  found  a  sleeping  and 
coiled  rattlesnake,  and  were  busily  engaged  in 
dragging  the  large  spine-covered  leaves  of  the 
prickly  pear  toward  and  arranging  them  about  it 
in  a  circle,  making  what  in  the  Southwest  is  called 
a  corral.  My  informant  watched  the  birds  for 
some  time,  and  finally  when  the  snake  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  perfect  hedge  of  spines,  one  of  the 
leaves  was  purposely  or  accidentally  pushed  upon 
the  reptile  which  lifted  its  head  and  savagely 
struck  out  and  was  immediately  pierced  by  the 
needle-like  spines.  This  added  to  its  rage,  and 
again  and  again  it  struck,  each  dart  only  increas- 
ing its  agony,  so  that  it  writhed  about,  and  was  soon 
involved  in  a  maze  of  the  terrible  darts,  transfixed 
and  stabbed  from  every  point,  so  that  finally  in 


l82  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

very  desperation  it  turned  and  bit  itself  repeatedly 
until  it  died. 

My  other  informant,  a  surveyor  who  had  trav- 
elled over  the  country  for  many  years,  had  not 
witnessed  the  act  of  piling  up  the  leaves,  but  he 
had  found  many  of  the  cactus-corrals  and  the 
skeleton  of  the  snake  in  the  centre  —  a  monument 
to  the  cunning  and  daring  of  the  road-runner. 

This  act  shows  remarkable  intelligence  in  this 
bird  which  is  not  quite  as  large  as  a  crow,  since  it 
must  associate  in  its  mind  the  result  that  will 
follow  the  contact  between  snake  and  cactus  spines. 

The  famous  secretary-bird  of  Africa  has  been 
employed  as  a  sentinel  in  the  French  West  Indies, 
where  it  was  introduced  a  number  of  years  ago  to 
prey  upon  the  rattlesnakes  which  had  increased  to 
an  alarming  extent.  The  birds  attack  these  rep- 
tiles with  great  avidity,  being  safe  on  their  great 
stilt-like  legs  from  their  darts.  Many  planters  in 
the  French  colony  keep  the  birds  about  their 
grounds,  where  they  become  perfectly  tame,  stand- 
ing about,  always  on  the  watch  for  enemies  from 
the  reptilian  world. 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  183 

All  the  previously  mentioned  birds,  it  will  be 
noticed,  use  their  faculties  to  protect  something  or 
somebody,  in  time  of  danger  ;  but  as  in  the  human 
family,  there  is  always  a  traitor,  one  who  for  sel- 
fish ends  will  expose  the  home  or  store  of  another, 
and  in  the  feathered  tribe  this  traitor  is  the  honey- 
guide,  Indicator  Albirostris.  This  bird  is  extremely 
fond  of  honey,  as  its  name  signifies,  and  unable, 
as  a  rule,  to  enter  the  trees  itself  it  makes  the 
most  astonishing  advances  and  signs  to  human 
beings  in  its  endeavors  to  induce  them  to  open  the 
hive.  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  Mr.  E.  F. 
Sandeman's  account  as  the  latest  and  one  of  the 
most  interesting : 

A  small  gray  bird  with  a  reddish  beak,  the  size  of  a 
sparrow,  had  flown  alongside  and  round  the  wagon,  making 
a  shrill  harsh  cry,  and  sometimes  almost  flying  in  the  faces 
of  the  drivers  ;  and  I  noticed  that  the  boys  were  regarding 
it  with  peculiar  attention,  and  talking  among  themselves  in 
reference  to  it.  On  asking  what  caused  the  unusual  interest 
in,  to  all  appearance,  a  very  commonplace  bird,  it  was  ex- 
plained that  this  little,  insignificant  visitor  was  the  far-famed 
honey-bird.  As  soon  as  the  oxen  were  outspanned  and  the 
boys  at  liberty,  three  of  them,  armed  with  buckets,  spades, 
and  hatchets,  set  off  toward  the  bird,  which  had  flown  to  a 


184  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

neighboring  tree  as  soon  as  it  perceived  that  our  attention 

was  successfully  attracted.     A and  myself,  to  whom  it 

was  as  strange  an  adventure  as  it  was  novel,  accompanied 
the  boys.  As  soon  as  we  reached  the  tree  the  little  fellow 
had  perched  on,  it  flitted  to  the  next,  and  then  on  again  until 
we  came  up.  For  nearly  a  mile  this  was  kept  up,  and  as  the 
way  grew  more  difficult  and  the  bushes  more  dense,  our  own 
faith  in  the  bird  was  rapidly  giving  place  to  irritation  at 
what  began  to  look  very  like  a  trick  of  the  others  at  the  ex- 
pense of  our  inexperience.  At  last  the  bird  stopped  alto- 
gether in  a  small  clump  of  some  dozen  mimosa-trees,  all 
growing  within  a  few  feet  of  one  another.  When  we  came 
up  to  it,  instead  of,  as  heretofore,  flying  off  in  a  straight  line, 
it  just  flitted  to  an  opposite  tree,  remained  there  a  few  mo- 
ments, and  then  back  to  its  previous  position.  This  was  its 
signal  that  the  nest  was  close  at  hand.  The  boys  examined 
the  trunks  of  the  trees  round  most  carefully,  but  could  find 
no  opening  where  the  nest  could  by  any  possibility  be  situ- 
ated. The  bird  grew  more  and  more  angry  and  indignant  at 
what  it  evidently  considered  our  extreme  stupidity,  and 
flapped  its  little  wings  and  redoubled  the  shrill  cries  which 
it  had  ceased  to  utter  while  leading  us  to  the  spot.  At  last, 
losing  all  patience,  it  actually  settled  on  a  piece  of  the  stem 
of  one  of  the  trees  it  had  been  persistently  flitting  backward 
and  forward  in  front  of.  The  boys,  now  paying  more  atten- 
tion to  this  particular  tree,  perceived  just  above  where  the 
bird  had  perched  a  small  hole,  and  round  it  a  kind  of 
cement.  While  we  were  watching,  a  bee  flew  out,  which 
made  it  certain  that  the  nest  was  within  the  trunk.  The 
driver  of  Wordvvard's  wagon,  who  was  an  old  hand  at  the 
work,  at  once  climbed  up  the  tree  with  a  hatchet,  and  under 


FEATHERED    SENTINELS.  185 

his  direction  the  others  collected  armfuls  of  dried  grass. 
Taking  a  large  handful  of  this,  he  lighted  it,  and  then  struck 
with  the  hatchet  at  the  mouth  of  the  narrow  hole.  At  the  first 
blow  a  quantity  of  mud,  wax,  and  decayed  wood  fell  to  the 
ground,  with  which  the  bees  had  skillfully  walled  up  a  large 
portion  of  the  decayed  wood.  Out  swarmed  a  cloud  of 
bees,  and  now  his  burning  grass  came  into  operation.  As 
quickly  as  they  flew  out  their  wings  were  singed  in  the 
flames,  and  they  dropped  helpless  to  the  ground.  In  a  very 
few  minutes,  all  the  occupants  of  the  nest  were  destroyed ; 
but  new  comers  were  constantly  arriving,  which  made  close 
quarters  anything  but  pleasant,  but  much  cutting  was  neces- 
sary to  lay  bare  a  large  portion  of  the  combs,  which  were 
laid  horizontally  across  the  entire  width  of  the  hollow 
portion  of  the  tree.  Before  leaving  we  carefully  fixed  a 
comb  filled  with  honey  on  the  nearest  bush,  and  our  late 
guide  flew  down  and  commenced  his  well-earned  repast  as 
soon  as  we  had  turned  our  backs  on  the  spot.  The  Kafirs 
would  much  prefer  not  to  take  any  honey  at  all,  than  depart 
with  their  spoil  and  not  leave  a  portion  for  the  bird.  They 
firmly  believe  that  if  they  thus  defraud  the  bird  of  its  just 
rights,  it  will  follow  them  up,  and  at  a  future  time,  instead  of 
leading  them  to  honey,  will  entice  them  into  the  lair  of  a 
lion,  or  to  a  nest  in  which  some  deadly  snake  lies  concealed. 

The  honey-guide  does  not  always  lead  hunters 
to  honey.  One  persistently  flew  about  Drummond, 
the  African  trader 'darting  in  front  of  his  face, 
until  it  almost  forced  him  to  follow,  then  after 


l86  FEATHERED    SENTINELS. 

taking  him  over  a  rough  country  led  him  into  a 
dry  water-course,  and  there  pointed  out  a  huge 
snake  —  in  this  case  acting  as  became  a  sentinel. 

On  another  occasion  the  same  hunter  was 
troubled  with  the  unceasing  attentions  of  one  of 
these  birds,  and  finally  after  following  the  little 
creature  for  half  a  mile,  expecting  every  moment 
to  see  a  leopard  or  lion  which  had  excited  the 
bird's  ire,  it  led  him  to  a  tree,  at  the  foot  of  which 
he  was  much  surprised  to  find  one  of  his  hunters 
who  was  fast  asleep  instead  of  being  off  at  work  as 
he  had  been  ordered. 

We  sometimes  hear  in  this  country  of  secrets 
being  whispered  by  little  birds,  and  it  would  seem 
to  be  a  reality  in  Africa. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

.  HAT  the  lower  an- 
imals have  their 
special  friends, 
or  show  prefer- 
ences as  to  their 
companions,  no 
observer  can 
doubt.  In  some 


LIVING    HONEY-BOTTLES. 


cases  the  friend- 
ship  is   between 

two  of  the  same  tribe;  again  we  find  what  are 
generally  considered  the  most  antagonistic  forms 
united  in  bonds  of  good-fellowship,  and  we  see 
acts  of  devotion  and  self-sacrifice  that  are  almost 
identical  with  those  that  characterize  the  friend- 
ships of  human  beings.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 

187 


1 88  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

the  impulses  are  much  the  same  in  all ;  some  pro- 
fessing an  interest  that  is  actuated  entirely  by  greed, 
or  for  personal  ends,  while  in  others  it  is  unselfish. 
Any  one  who  has  visited  the  herd  of  elephants 
owned  by  Mr.  Barnum  must  have  noticed  the  large 
dog  that  stood  by  the  side  of  one  of  the  huge 
pachyderms.  To  the  visitor  this  might  have  seemed 
accidental ;  but  the  dog  was  always  at  its  post  by 
this  particular  animal.  If  the  dog  wandered  off 
the  elephant  showed  its  distress  immediately  by 
attempting  to  follow ;  straining  at  the  chain  con- 
fined to  its  ponderous  feet,  or  throwing  aloft  its 
trunk  and  uttering  the  shrill  whistle  indicative  of 
alarm,  and  only  resuming  the  monotonous  swing- 
ing of  the  head  when  its  companion  returned. 
The  elephant  was  often  observed  caressing  the 
dog,  and  though  the  latter  always  slept  in  the 
straw,  sometimes  beneath  its  huge  friend,  it  was 
never  stepped  upon  or  crushed.  When  the  ele- 
phant was  led  out  to  go  through  its  daily  task  in 
the  ring,  the  dog  would  begin  to  bark  and  endeavor 
to  join  the  throng  of  performers  ;  so  that  it  was 
perfectly  evident  that  the  friendship  was  mutual. 


ANIMALS   AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  189 

In  many  of  the  works  of  old  writers  are  found 
instances  of  such  attachments  between  man  and 
beast.  yElian  records  a  friendship  between  a 
little  girl,  who  sold  flowers  in  the  streets  of  Anti- 
och,  and  an  elephant  which  she  was  in  the  habit 
of  feeding.  One  of  the  elephants  in  the  Barnum 
herd  exhibited  great  interest  in  a  little  daughter 
of  one  of  the  attendants ;  holding  her  upon  its 
trunk,  and  in  many  ways  showing  its  affection. 

In  India  elephants  are  so  trusted  that  they  are 
sometimes  employed  as  nurses,  and  have  been 
seen  carefully  tending  their  charges,  lifting  them 
gently  back  when  they  were  disposed  to  stray 
away.  The  natives  state  that  these  great  animals 
have  been  known  to  die  of  a  broken  heart  when 
deprived  of  a  certain  keeper,  and  Lieutenant 
Shipp,  an  English  officer  of  extensive  experience 
in  the  East,  gives  a  minute  account  of  an  elephant 
that  died  in  what  was  considered  a  fit  of  remorse 
after  having  killed  its  keeper. 

While  attachment  between  animals  is  every- 
where to  be  seen,  it  is  not  often  that  we  witness 
such  acts  of  disinterested  devotion  as  we  expect 


190  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

among  human  beings.  Mother-birds  protect  their 
young  in  the  face  of  every  danger  ;  but  it  must  be 
confessed  that  few  observers  have  seen  animals 
go  to  the  rescue  of  others  without  maternal  or  pa- 
ternal incentive ;  but  such  cases  are  not  wanting. 

Some  years  ago  a  Scotch  naturalist  wishing  to 
obtain  a  gull  fired  at  a  flock,  breaking  the  wing  of 
one  which  came  fluttering  down,  falling  into  the 
ocean.  At  first  the  flock  were  demoralized,  and 
flew  wildly  about,  uttering  harsh  cries ;  but  a  mo- 
ment later  they  seemed  to  be  recalled  to  a  sense 
of  duty  by  the  struggles  of  their  wounded  comrade, 
and  two  birds  darted  down,  seized  it  by  the  tips 
of  its  wings,  then  rose  and  bore  it  away  in  tri- 
umph ;  for,  as  may  be  supposed,  the  naturalist  did 
not  fire,  but  permitted  the  rescue.  Here  was 
friendship  indeed ;  heroism,  in  fact,  as  the  other 
birds  alarmed  by  the  fire  faced  the  same  clanger. 

Among  the  fishes  we  find  some  curious  instances 
of  companionship.  I  have  seen  a  large  man-eater 
shark  moving  slowly  along  the  side  of  a  southern 
channel,  accompanied  by  two  sets  of  companions. 
One,  and  the  most  prominent,  were  remoras,  slen- 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  19! 

der  black  fishes  about  a  foot  in  length,  bearing 
upon  their  heads  a  curious  sucker  formed  of  plates. 
Usually  these  attendants  swim  by  their  great  con- 
sort, offering  a  striking  contrast  to  it,  occasionally 
straying  off.  If  the  shark  is  alarmed  and  increases 
its  speed,  they  turn  quickly,  and  fasten  their 
suckers  to  it,  and  are  so  towed  along.  I  have, 
with  the  assistance  of  a  dozen  men,  hauled  large 
sharks  upon  the  beach,  and  found  four  or  five 
remoras  still  clinging  to  its  sides. 

If  a  man-eater  is  watched  closely  in  the  water 
the  other  companions  will  be  observed  about  its 
head ;  little  striped  fishes  known  scientifically  as 
Naucrates,  and  popularly  as  pilots. 

According  to  the  sailors  the  little  fishes  spy  out 
food  and  inform  their  huge  friends  ;  but  this  story 
has  its  limitations,  and  arose  from  the  fact  that 
the  fishes  are  nearly  always  seen  darting  about  in 
search  of  food.  I  have  seen  them  twenty  feet 
from  the  shark,  swimming  around  objects  at  the 
surface,  inspecting  it  inquiringly,  and  then  return- 
ing to  the  man-eater  that  did  not  turn  in  that 
direction  unless  it  noticed  the  object  that  had 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

attracted  the  attention  of  its  little  companions. 
When  the  shark  is  taken  from  the  water  they  show 
great  distress ;  swimming  about  here  and  there, 
apparently  at  loss  what  to  do,  finally  joining  their 
fortunes  with  some  new  friend.  This  is  a  pro- 
tective measure  on  the  part  of  the  smaller  fishes. 
They  doubtless  know  that  here  they  are  safe,  and 
in  many  that  I  have  watched  their  presence  was 
not  noticed  in  any  way  by  the  sharks.  I  have 
seen  the  remoras  accompany  a  large  porgy,  and 
also  cling  to  a  loggerhead  turtle ;  and  doubtless 
they  follow  all  the  large  slow-swimming  fishes. 

The  huge  Lophius,  or  American  angler,  which 
has  such  a  wide  distribution  in  many  seas,  pre- 
sents in  some  cases  an  interesting  example  of  an 
association  more  or  less  friendly.  In  a  specimen 
taken  in  the  Mediterranean,  a  little  eel-like  fish 
was  found  tucked  away  in  its  gills  ;  and  as  several 
were  afterward  found  with  similar  companions  it 
was  evident  that  the  fellowship  was  not  accidental. 

The  typical  happy  family  is  evidence  that  ani- 
mals of  totally  different  kinds  will  affiliate  together. 
I  have  seen  a  ground  squirrel  and  owl  occupying 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  193 

the  same  burrow,  and  the  owls  will  live  in  the 
same  house  with  the  rabbit  in  Southern  California, 
while  a  not  so  welcome  guest  is  the  huge  taran- 
tula that  sometimes  creeps  in  out  of  harm's  way. 

I  once  formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  monkey 
that  pretended  to  be  on  terms  of  the  greatest 
friendship  with  a  cat,  the  two  being  inseparable. 
When  I  first  saw  the  former  it  sat  on  a  shelf  made 
for  its  comfort,  holding  the  cat,  that  was  purring 
loudly,  tightly  in  its  arms.  Puss  was  in  one  sense 
a  victim,  and  I  am  confident  if  I  had  tugged  at 
her  tail  as  her  friend  Jacko  did  I  should  have  been 
rewarded  after  the  fashion  of  cats ;  but  she  suf- 
fered the  greatest  indignities  from  his  hands,  and 
on  one  occasion  only  did  I  hear  a  cry  of  protest. 
She  was  released  by  Jacko,  and  leaped  upon  the 
shelf  leaving  her  tail  hanging  down,  when  with  a 
spring  he  seized  it,  and  began  to  gyrate  violently 
upon  the  living  swing  that  uttered  piteous  howls 
in  protest.  But  a  moment  later  she  was  rubbing 
against  him  with  every  evidence  of  affection. 

In  the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Central 
Park,  New  York,  there  is  a  mounted  African  lion, 


194  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

the  work  of  the  celebrated  Ferreaux  of  Paris.  The 
noble  animal  is  represented  as  on  the  alert  with 
its  mouth  open,  the  teeth  glistening,  and  the  tail 
in  a  life-like  position,  as  if  caught  in  an  attempted 
lash.  Everything  about  this  specimen  betokens 
life  and  action,  and  just  beneath  its  head  lies  a 
little  black  and  white  dog,  gnawing  a  bone.  The 
picture,  for  it  is  one,  is  simply  that  of  a  little  dog 
eating  its  dinner  guarded  by  a  lion  ;  and  while  it 
conveys  little  significance  to  the  casual  observer 
it  is  a  representation  of  actual  facts  ;  the  lion  and 
dog  being  old  friends  that  lived  together  in  the 
Paris  Garden.  The  lion  was  so  attached  to  the 
dog  that  it  would  allow  no  one  to  touch  it ;  shared 
its  meals  with  it,  in  itself  a  remarkable  act  as  any 
one  can  realize  who  has  watched  the  ferocious 
struggles  of  these  animals  when  feeding.  But 
this  little  dog  had  in  some  way  secured  a  hold 
upon  the  great  cat's  affections,  and  was  preserved 
and  protected  until  the  end. 

An  exactly  opposite  case  was  seen  at  the  New 
York  Zoo  some  years  ago,  when  the  old  dog  Fan 
adopted  and  brought  up  a  family  of  lions. 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  197 

That  friendship  exists  between  insects  is  well 
known.  Especially  is  this  true  among  ants,  and 
it  is  surprising  how  quickly  these  little  creatures 
recognize  the  presence  of  an  intruder.  At  Colo- 
rado Springs  the  surrounding  country  is  marked 
in  a  very  noticeable  manner  by  the  ant-hills,  some 
of  which  are  a  foot  or  more  in  height.  I  often 
visited  them,  and  spent  considerable  time  in 
watching  the  ways  and  habits  of  their  inhabi- 
tants. If  a  stick  was  thrust  into  a  large  nest 
thousands  of  ants  would  rush  out  to  the  attack,  and 
their  numbers  in  a  single  nest  may  be  realized 
when  I  say  that  I  have  swept  them  back  with  a 
bit  of  weed  so  that  they  formed  at  the  bottom  of 
the  pit  a  solid  mass  almost  as  large  as  my  closed 
hand.  Such  a  ball  must  represent  many  thou- 
sands, yet  all  are  friends  or  acquaintances.  It  is 
said  that  Napoleon  knew  all  his  soldiers,  but  here 
are  ants  that  undoubtedly  have  less  to  distinguish 
them  than  human  beings,  that  recognize  untold 
thousands  constituting  their  tribe. 

That  this  is  so  I  have  often  demonstrated  by 
dropping  among  them  an  ant  to  all  intents  and 


198  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

purposes  alike,  but  from  another  nest.  The 
recognition  of  a  stranger  is  immediate,  and  the 
intruder  is  at  once  attacked  and  either  killed  or 
driven  out.  In  a  nest  near  my  house  the  ants 
from  frequent  visitations  became  extremely  savage 
and  would  at  once  attack  a  new-comer.  One  day 
I  dropped  a  huge  iron-jawed  black  ant  in.  among 
them.  In  a  second  it  was  seized  by  legs  and 
antennae  by  as  many  of  the  furious  host  as  could 
crowd  about.  At  first  the  giant  struggled,  then 
finding  escape  impossible  he  began  leisurely  de- 
stroying his  tormentors,  every  movement  of  the 
ponderous  jaws  resulting  in  the  decapitation  of 
a  victim,  until  finally  he  actually  secured  his 
release. 

As  in  nests  of  Formica  pratensis  it  has  been  esti- 
mated that  there  are  often  half  a  million  individ- 
uals, it  is  evident  that  the  memory  of  the  ant  is 
remarkable.  Some  interesting  experiments  may 
be  tried  to  prove  that  friendship  exists  between 
ants  and  that  old  acquaintances  are  not  forgotten. 
If  an- ant  from  a  certain  nest  is  taken  away  and 
kept  for  a  day  or  so  and  then  dropped  among  the 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  199 

rest  with  a  stranger  it  is  not  molested,  but  the 
stranger  will  be  found  soon  after  badly  used  if  n.ot 
dead. 

The  length  of  time  that  ants  will  remember 
friends  has  been  determined  in  an  interesting 
series  of  experiments  by  Sir  John  Lubbock.  In 
August,  1875  he  separated  a  colony  of  Formica 
fusca  which  he  had  kept  for  some  time.  Eight 
months  later  he  took  one  of  the  ants  and  a  stranger 
and  placed  them  in  the  old  colony.  The  long- 
absent  ant  seemed  perfectly  at  home  and  was  not 
disturbed,  while  the  other  was  immediately  at- 
tacked. Ten  months  after  the  original  separation 
he  returned  another  old  friend  and  a  stranger. 
The  latter  was  at  once  seized  by  the  antennse  and 
dragged  from  the  nest  while  the  former  was  not 
molested,  though  it  was  noticed  that  it  did  not 
mingle  freely  with  the  family.  This  experiment 
was  repeated  many  times,  the  returned  ant  being 
marked  with  paint  so  as  to  be  distinguished,  and 
not  only  was  it  unmolested,  but  its  old  acquaint- 
ances insisted  upon  removing  the  paint.  Sir  John 
concludes  his  experiments  with  the  following  : 


200  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

Friends  were  in  most  cases  amicably  received  even  after 
more  than  a  year  of  separation ;  but  while  the  strangers 
were  invariably  attacked  and  expelled  the  friends  were  not 
always  recognized,  at  least  at  first.  It  seemed  as  if  some 
of  the  ants  had  forgotten  them  or  perhaps  the  young  ones 
did  not  recognize  them.  Even,  however,  when  the  friends 
were  at  first  attacked  the  aggressors  soon  seemed  to  discover 
their  mistake,  and  friends  were  never  ultimately  driven  out 
of  the  nest.  This  recognition  of  old  friends  after  a  separa- 
tion of  more  than  a  year  seems  to  me  very  remarkable. 

The  friendship  of  ants  is  not  confined  to  its  own 
kind,  but  includes  a  variety  of  insects,  many  of 
which,  however,  it  must  be  confessed  serve  them 
in  various  ways.  Such  are  the  many  species  of 
Coaidce,  Cercopis,  Centrotus,  Membrads.  The  little 
yellow  ant,  Lasius flayus,  is  particularly  friendly  to 
the  Aphis ,  going  so  far  as  to  exceed  the  bonds 
of  friendship  and  using  them  as  domestic  animals, 
keeping  them  in  flocks  and  herds.  Between  the 
ants  and  aphidce  there  is  a  mutual  accommodation 
society.  The  aphidae  supply  their  friends  and 
owners  with  a  secretion  called  milk,  while  the 
latter  protect  them  from  the  attacks  of  various 
enemies,  and  even  go  so  far  as  to  build  sheds  of 
earth  over  them.  Not  only  do  they  protect  the 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  2OI 

adults  but  they  collect  the  eggs  and  care  for  them 
tenderly,  taking  them  underground  into  the  lower 
portions  of  their  nest  in  cold  weather,  and  when 
the  young  hatch  carrying  the  offspring  out  and 
placing  them  upon  plants  suited  to  them  —  a  most 
remarkable  example  of  forethought,  as  the  ants 
thus  save  eggs  that  will  provide  them  with  food 
six  months  later. 

In  some  nests  of  the  yellow  ant  as  many  as  five 
species  of  Aphis  have  been  found,  and  Markel,  a 
careful  observer,  states  that  in  a  large  ant's  nest 
(Formica  rufa)  there  may  be  at  least  a  thousand 
other  insects  living  there  as  visiting  friends  un- 
molested by  the  .  rightful  owners.  Andre  gives  a 
list  of  five  hundred  and  eighty-four  insects  found 
habitually  associating  with  ants,  five  hundred  and 
forty-two  of  which  were  beetles.  That  a  friend- 
ship or  association  of  some  kind  exists  between 
this  horde  and  the  ants  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as 
the  ants  pay  no  attention  to  them,  and  just  what 
this  relationship  is  will  form  an  interesting  study 
for  my  young  readers. 

It  is  evident  at  the  onset  that  different  insects 


202  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

are  on  different  footings.  Thus  while  the  Aphidce 
are  carefully  tended  by  the  ants,  an  insect  allied 
to  Podura  is  often  found  in  the  galleries  darting 
about,  bustling  here  and  there,  walking  over  the 
ants  with  a  daring  recklessness,  its  antennae  vibra- 
ting as  if  with  the  most  intense  excitement ;  yet  to 
this  busybody  the  ants  pay  not  the  slightest  atten- 
tion. Perhaps  they  know  that  it  is  harmless,  for 
Beckia,  as  Sir  John  Lubbock  has  named  it,  has 
paid  dearly  for  its  subterranean  life  and  is  blind. 

Another  blind  friend  of  the  ants  is  the  beetle, 
Claviger,  and  not  only  is  it  sightless,  but  it  seems 
to  have  entirely  lost  the  power  of  caring  for  itself, 
and  is  even  fed  by  the  ants ;  and  that  they  enter- 
tain some  affection  for  the  helpless  creature  is 
very  evident,  as  they  are  often  seen  caressing  it 
with  their  antennae. 

It  is  barely  possible  that  these  attentions  of  the 
ants  are  not  so  disinterested  as  one  might  sup- 
pose, as  if  the  two  are  watched  the  ants  will  occa- 
sionally be  seen  to  lick  certain  tufts  of  hair  at  the 
base  of  the  elytra  of  the  beetle,  evidently  obtain- 
ing much  satisfaction  from  the  act,  so  possibly 


•3RA 

OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 


ANIMALS   AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  203 

the  blind  insect  provides  them  with  nourishment 
of  some  kind.  Ants  have  been  seen  licking  tufts 
of  hair  on  the  beetle  Dinar  da  dentata.  On  one 
occasion  some  ants  were  feeding  upon  sugar  when 
a  friend,  the  beetle  Lomechusa3  came  along  and 
tapped  an  ant  upon  the  head  with  its  antennae  —  a 
gentle  hint  to  share  the  delicacy,  and  it  was  at  once 
taken,  as  the  ant  opened  its  mandibles  and  fed  the 
beetle  as  it  would  one  of  its  own  tribe. 

In  no  branch  of  the  animal  kingdom  are  there 
offered  so  many  remarkable  analogies  to  the  acts  of 
human  beings  as  we  find  among  the  ants.  Indeed 
this  is  so  marked  that  Sir  John  Lubbock  says  : 

The  anthropoid  apes  no  doubt  approach  nearer  to  man  in 
bodily  structure  than  do  any  other  animals,  but  when  we 
consider  the  habits  of  ants,  their  social  organization,  their 
large  communities  and  elaborate  habitations,  their  road- 
ways, their  possession  of  domestic  animals,  and  even  in 
some  cases  of  slaves,  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  have  a 
fair  claim  to  rank  next  to  man  in  point  of  intelligence. 

I  have  referred  especially  to  ants  in  this  chapter 
as  they  are  available  to  all  for  study  and  obser- 
vation, and  while  their  structure  and  general  fea- 
tures are  well  known,  their  domestic  relations, 


204  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

their  means  of  communication  and  social  organi- 
zation present  an  inexhaustible  field  for  workers. 
If  evidence  were  wanting  that  certain  ants  vol- 
untarily make  sacrifices  for  others  the  case  of  the 
honey  ant  would  be  sufficient.     That  ants  should 
keep  domestic  animals  and  perform  the  hundred 
and  one  intelligent  acts  that  they  do  is  remarkable, 
but  that  certain  members  of  a  tribe  should  either 
by   election    or   selection    constitute    themselves 
actual  living  bottles  or  reservoirs  for  the  rest  seems 
beyond  the  range  of  possibility;  yet  such  is  the 
case.     Many  years  ago  a  French  naturalist,  Mr. 
Wesmael,  described  a  Mexican  ant,  Myrmecocytus 
Mexicanns,  which  was  brought  from  Mexico  by  M. 
de  Normann,  making  the  remarkable  announce- 
ment that  in  the  division  of  labor  certain  ants  were 
literally  living  honey-jars,  or  storehouses,  for  the 
others.     This  statement  was  deemed  incredible  at 
the  time,  but  was  confirmed  by  many  observers  as 
Lucas,  Edwards,  Saunders,  Black,  and  others. 

Two  different  genera  are  now  known,  one  Cam- 
ponotus  inflatus  from  Australia,  and  the  one  al- 
ready given  which  ranges  from  Mexico  up  to 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS.  2CX 

w 

Colorado  Springs  where  in  the  Garden  of  the  Gods 
they  have  been  carefully  studied  by  Dr.  McCook. 
In  this  locality  the  nests  of  these  ants  may  be 
observed  as  small  elevations  over  the  ridges  of 
disintegrating  rocks  that  form  the  characteristic 
of  this  wonderful  garden.  If  we  dig  down,  and 
with  hammer  or  axe  cut  into  the  stone,  we  shall 
find  in  all  probability  among  the  swarm  of  ants 
several  kinds  and  one  remarkable  for  its  enor- 
mously distended  abdomen.  This  is  one  of  the 
workers  that  by  agreement,  or  in  some  way,  has 
consented  to  hold  a  supply  of  food  for  the  rest. 
These  living  bottles  are  kept  by  the  other  ants  in 
a  room  by  themselves,  and  are  generally  found 
clinging  to  the  wall  of  their  cell  utterly  helpless. 
Dr.  McCook  found  by  carefully  watching  them 
that  these  ants  were  chiefly  night-workers,  starting 
out  in  the  evening  about  seven  o'clock,  and  march- 
ing in  lines  to  some  low  bushes  in  the  vicinity. 
Examination  showed  that  they  were  clustering 
about  the  small  galls,  formed  by  the  gall-fly, 
Cynips  quercusmellariot,  from  which  they  obtained 
their  honey.  Each  ant  upon  taking  a  supply  re- 


206  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    FRIENDS. 

turned  to  the  nest  and  there  delivered  it  up  to  the 
ants  with  the  large  abdomens  who  received  it, 
holding  it  in  bond,  as  it  were,  until  wanted  by  the 
others.  When  the  workers  desired  food  they 
touched  or  caressed  the  living  jars  with  their  an- 
tennae upon  which  it  was  produced  by  muscular 
contraction  of  the  bottles  and  taken  from  their 
mouths  by  the  hungry  workers. 

The  nests  contained  on  an  average  about  two 
hundred  of  these  honey-bearers,  representing  about 
one  fourth  of  a  pound  of  honey  stored  in  this  re- 
markable way.  In  Old  Mexico  strangers  are 
sometimes  presented  at  dessert  with  pellucid  globes 
of  honey  to  be  eaten  as  we  would  eat  a  grape,  the 
delicacy  being  the  honey  ant  that  is  considered  a 
bonne-bouche  by  the  Mexican  epicures.  The  honey 
is  believed  by  natives  to  have  medicinal  virtues. 

That  such  a  condition  of  affairs  in  an  ant's  nest, 
showing  so  remarkable  a  division  of  labor,  must 
entail  a  perfect  understanding,  no  one  can  doubt, 
and  probably  these  simple  creatures  have  a  lan- 
guage as  effective  as  our  own. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

N  the  care  of  their  young, 
the  lower  animals  exhibit 
more  of  what  we  term 
intelligence  than  at  any 
other  time  ;  they  are  then 
on  the  alert,  and  all  their 
faculties  are  brought  into 
play  in  keeping  up  a 
watchful  lookout  for  their 
little  ones.  Many  of  their 
actions  at  this  time  are 
undoubtedly  instinctive,  but  others  show  that  the 
very  humblest  creatures  possess  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree  that  higher  power  —  thought.  As  we 
note  these  acts,  not  the  least  interesting  feature 
is  their  resemblance  to  those  of  human  beings. 

207 


KOALA    AND    YOUNG. 


208  ANIMALS    AND   THEIR    YOUNG. 

Almost  every  group  has  some  peculiar  way  or 
method  of  transporting  the  young ;  and  yet,  often- 
times entirely  different  animals  carry  their  little 
ones  in  almost  exactly  the  same  way,  affording  some 
strange  and  amusing  exhibitions  to  the  fortunate 
observer,  and  it  is  my  purpose  to  contrast  some  of 
the  more  striking  of  these  methods,  which  show 
that  through  all  animal  life,  the  various  creatures, 
from  man  down,  are  moved  by  very  nearly  the 
same  impulses. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  points  is  to  observe 
how  nature  always  adapts  her  dependents  to  their 
surroundings.  Thus  in  the  island  of  Martinique 
there  are  no  swamps,  yet  there  are  tree-toads  ;  and 
the  very  important  question  arises,  "  How  can  the 
baby  tadpoles  live  ? ':  Almost  everywhere  else 
they  pass  a  season  of  their  lives  in  the  water, 
undergoing  certain  changes ;  gradually  growing 
legs  until  they  pass  from  a  fish-like  form  to  that  of 
a  lizard,  and  finally  emerge  from  the  water  per- 
fect frogs  or  toads.  In  this  instance  nature  pro- 
vides that  the  little  one  shall,  as  soon  as  hatched, 
live  without  water,  and  we  find  them  clinging  to 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  2OQ 

the  mother's  back  by  a  glutinous  secretion  and 
there  carried  about  with  the  greatest  ease  until 
they  jump  off  and  begin  life  on  their  own  account. 
In  a  larger  and  remarkable  group  of  animals, 
represented  by  the  kangaroo,  the  young  when  first 
born  are  exceedingly  minute  and  absolutely  help- 
less; so  tender,  in  fact,  that  they  would  perish 
immediately  if  there  was  not  a  special  provision 
for  them.  This  we  find  in  the  pouch,  from  which 
these  animals  and  their  allies  are  called  marsu- 
pials. The  kangaroo,  the  opossum,  the  wombat, 
and  a  number  of  others  represent  them.  As  soon 
as  the  little  kangaroo  is  born  it  is  placed  in  the 
pouch,  where  it  remains  until  quite  well  grown, 
and  one  of  the  most  comical  sights  is  to  see  a 
huge  kangaroo  mother  moving  along  with  the  little 
head  of  the  baby  reaching  out  of  its  resting-place 
after  grass  ;  in  fact,  feeding  as  it  goes  along.  The 
little  ones  leap  from  the  pouch  with  the  greatest 
ease,  and  at  the  slightest  alarm  dart  back,  often 
diving  in  just  in  time  as  the  powerful  mother  takes- 
a  mighty  spring  and  goes  bounding  away.  In 
former  times  there  was  a  kangaroo  as  large  as  a'n 


210  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

elephant,  and  if  it  carried  its  gigantic  baby  in  a 
pouch,  the  sight  must  have  been  a  singular  one. 

Now,  curiously  enough,  while  the  kangaroos  are 
the  true  marsupials,  their  pouches  containing  the 
organs  of  nutriment,  there  are  many  other  and 
widely  different  animals,  which  protect  their  young 
a  horse,  and  all  in  all,  while  the  Hippocampus  al- 
example  is  the  little  sea-horse,  which  is  so  famil- 
iar in  collections,  and  not  uncommonly  found  on 
the  eastern  coast.  The  proper  name  of  the  little 
creature  is  Hippocampus,  and  it  is  a  fish  about  four 
inches  in  length,  although  but  few  would  consider 
it  a  fish  at  all.  In  the  first  place  it  stands  upright 
in  the  water,  moving  forward  by  the  screw-like 
vibrations  of  its  back  or  dorsal  fin  which  is  a  most 
beautiful  object  in  motion.  The  tail  ends  in  a 
point,  without  a  fin,  and  is  prehensile,  or  has  the 
power  of  grasping  just  as  has  the  tail  of  some 
monkeys  or  the  opossum.  The  head  of  the  little 
animal  is  remarkable  in  its  resemblance  to  that  of 
.in  a  seemingly  similar  manner.  An  interesting 
most  heads  the  list  of  the  fishes  it  is  a  singularly 
unfish-like  animal,  as  we  understand  the  term. 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  211 

Those  that  I  have  found  have  been  on  the  Florida 
reef  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  but  they  live  in  many 
seas,  and  are  almost  always  found  clinging  to  the 
sea-weed  with  their  little  tails  tightly  wound  about 
a  branch,  and  looking  so  much  like  it  that  only 
the  sharpest  eyes  can  distinguish  it  ;  indeed, 
some  species,  and  particularly  one  from  Australian 
waters,  has  long  streamers  growing  from  the 
various  parts,  giving  the  animal  the  appearance  of 
a  mass  of  sea-weed  floating  in  the  current. 

In  the  kangaroo  it  was  the  mother  which  had 
the  pouch,  but  among  the  sea-horses  it  is  the  father 
upon  whom  this  responsibility  devolves,  the  mother 
merely  depositing  the  eggs  and  running  away,  her 
maternal  duties  ending  there  and  then.  But  as 
soon  as  this  is  accomplished  her  mate  assiduously 
collects  them  -  -  just  how  I  think  has  not  been 
observed  —  and  soon  the  little  marsupium  that  so 
resembles  the  pouch  of  the  true  marsupials,  be- 
comes greatly  distended  and  packed  with  the 
coming  brood.  It  is  on  the  ventral  or  lower  sur- 
face, well  down  and  very  prominent  at  this  time. 
The  eggs  are  carried  about  in  this  way  until  they 


212  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

are  hatched,  when  the  sea-horse  presses  the  pouch 
against  some  hard  substance,  and  forces  the  herd 
of  young  colts  out  into  the  water,  and  then  en- 
sues a  remarkable  sight  which  I  was  once  so 
fortunate  as  to  observe.  They  seemed  to  issue  in 
countless  numbers,  though  probably  there  appeared 
to  be  many  more  than  there  really  were,  and  all 
minute  pink  and  white  little  creatures  almost  in- 
visible to  the  naked  eye,  but  the  image  of  their 
parents  and  preserving  the  same  curious  upright 
position,  moving  about  slowly  through  the  water, 
and  only  to  be  seen  when  the  sunlight  struck  the 
tank  in  which  they' were  confined.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  parent  now  loses  all  control  of  the 
herd,  and  the  frisky  sea-colts  are  from  this  time  on 
at  the  mercy  of  every  fish  that  may  chance  to  see 
them,  and  in  the  open  water  comparatively  few  of 
every  brood  attain  a  good  old  age. 

In  some  of  the  relatives  of  our  common  sea- 
horse, named  Nerophis  and  Protocampus^  there  is 
no  pouch,  and  the  mother  carries  about  the  eggs 
attached  to  the  abdomen  until  they  hatch ;  but  in 
one,  called  the  Solenostoma  the  mother  actually  has 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  213 

a  pouch  for  the  prospective  young,  formed  by  the 
ventral  fins,  the  eggs  being  attached  to  or  held  in 
place  by  long  filaments  which  extend  from  the  side. 

Among  the  cat-fishes,  which  have  so  many  re- 
markable traits,  there  are  several  which  possess  so- 
called  pouches.  In  one  from  Panama,  called  the 
Arius,  the  mother  carries  her  eggs  about  in  a  fold 
of  the  skin  which  forms  a  pouch,  until  they  are 
hatched. 

Among  the  toads  there  are  many  strange  meth- 
ods of  caring  for  the  young.  In  the  European 
obstetrical  toad  Ayteles  obstetricans,  the  male  seizes 
the  eggs,  which  are  laid  in  long  strings  as  are 
those  of  our  common  American  salamander,  and 
to  make  sure  that  they  shall  always  be  in  sight 
heaps  them  upon  his  back  and  winds  them  about 
his  legs  where  they  remain  until  hatched.  The 
little  toad  Nototrema  of  Mexico,  has  still  another 
method.  The  eggs  are  placed  upon  its  back,  and 
finally  received  in  a  little  pouch  or  pocket  formed 
by  the  infolding  of  the  skin.  In  a  Peruvian  species 
the  little  tadpoles  have  been  seen  rolling,  wrig- 
gling, and  scrabbling  from  the  pouch,  presenting  a 


214  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

remarkable  appearance  ;  but  in  another  species  the 
young  pass  through  all  their  metamorphoses  or 
changes  in  the  curious  pocket,  only  appearing 
when  they  have  assumed  the  adult  form. 

The  Chiromantis,  a  West  African  frog,  exhibits 
much  intelligence  in  selecting  a  place  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  its  eggs.  They  are  deposited  during 
the  dry  season,  and  become  hard ;  but  the  mother 
selects  a  place  where  she  knows  there  will  be  a 
pond  or  pool  in  the  wet  season,  and  upon  some 
overhanging  branch  or  leaf  attaches  her  eggs  in  a 
position  where  the  first  rain  will  soften  and  wash 
them  into  the  pool  formed  below. 

We  would  hardly  expect  to  find  a  pouch  among 
birds,  yet  some  of  the  penguins  have  one,  in  which 
they  carry  about  their  single  egg  ;  and  an  albatross 
has  a  similar  arrangement.  The  tender  care  which 
birds  show  to  their  offspring  is  almost  too  well 
known  to  be  dwelt  upon,  but  there  are  some  in- 
stances of  affection  which  are  of  more  than  ordin- 
ary interest.  Thus  the  woodcock  has  been  seen 
to  protect  its  young  in  a  somewhat  remarkable 
way.  A  hunter  in  walking  through  the  brush  or 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  215 

grass,  suddenly  observed  a  bird  dart  up  and  fly 
away  with  something  between  its  claws.  Thinking 
that  it  was  injured  he  ran  ahead  and  attained  a 
position  close  enough  to  see  that  the  mother  was 
bearing  between  her  feet  a  baby  woodcock,  per- 
haps a  weak  one  of  the  flock  which  could  not 
escape  itself.  On  another  occasion  a  sportsman 
saw  a  woodcock  endeavoring  to  carry  its  little  one 
on  her  back ;  but  this  was  not  quite  so  successful, 

the  fuzzy  little  fellow  rolling  off  into  the  grass. 
As  a  rule,  birds  are  very  solicitous  about  build- 
ing their  nests,  and  watchful  of  their  young  until 
they  are  able  to  fly  away  and  care  for  themselves ; 
but  there  is  one  notable  exception  to  this  in  the 
Old-World  cuckoos,  which  are  either  unable  or  too 
lazy  to  build,  as  when  the  nesting-time  comes  the 
cuckoo  hunts  out  the  nest  of  some  other  bird  and 
slyly  drops  in  her  own  egg,  which  is  not  noticed 
by  the  fond  mother,  the  rightful  owner  of  the  nest, 
until  the  young  are  hatched  and  well  grown.  In 
many  cases  no  sooner  does  the  intruder  leave  its 
shell  than  it  begins  to  develop  ancestral  traits, 
and  boldly  tosses  out  the  other  occupants,  and 


2l6  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

obtains  all  the  food  for  itself.  The  innocent 
parent  birds  are  perhaps  astonished  at  their  off- 
spring, as  it  grows  and  thrives  in  a  remarkable 
way,  and  if  the  nest  is  small  often  before  the  young 
cuckoo  is  fully  fledged  it  is  larger  than  its  adopted 
parents  who  work  every  hour  in  the  day  to  satisfy 
its  ravenous  and  unnatural  appetite.  In  an  Aus- 
tralian species,  the  bird  which  thought  herself  the 
mother,  was  seen  sitting  by  the  side  of  the  nest 
which  was  completely  filled  by  a  young  featherless 
bird  at  least  a  third  larger  than  the  poor  deceived 
mother,  who  must  have  looked  at  the  enormous 
mouth  of  her  offspring  in  wonder  and  amazement. 
In  the  islands  of  the  Florida  Keys  I  have  seen 
the  eggs  of  gulls  so  thickly  strewn  about  that  it  was 
difficult  to  walk  without  stepping  upon  them. 
Here  the  birds  were  relieved  from  the  necessity 
of  setting,  the  eggs  being  left  in  a  mere  shallow  in 
the  sand  where  the  sun  hatched  them  ;  and  so 
numerous  were  the  young  birds  that  without  doubt 
they  were  fed  promiscuously  by  the  mothers, 
though  it  is  possible  that  each  may  have  recognized 
her  owno  Some  of  these  birds,  called  noddies, 


UNIVERSITY 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  219 

built  a  rude  nest  in  the  trees,  and  this  was  often 
the  scene  of  terrible  struggles,  as  no  sooner  did 
the  old  birds  bring  a  choice  morsel  in  the  way  of 
a  sardine,  mullet,  or  flying  fish  to  the  nest  than  a 
score  of  hermit  and  other  crabs  began  to  ascend 
the  bush  and  endeavor  to  steal  the  food,  and  not 
rarely  did  they  succeed;  utterly  disregarding  the 
vigorous  protests  of  young  and  old  birds. 

Among  the  cat-tribe  great  solicitude  is  shown 
for  the  young,  and  the  long  journeys  which  cats 
have  made  in  order  to  carry  their  little  ones  to  a 
place  of  safety  would  seem  incredible  were  it  not 
verified  by  many  well-known  instances. 

Lions  and  tigers  carry  their  cubs  in  their  mouth 
just  as  do  our  ordinary  cats,  and  this  is  very  gen- 
erally true  of  the  cat-tribe.  A  curious  instance  of 
rather  misplaced  affection  was  seen  in  the  Zoolog- 
ical Garden  at  Central  Park  some  years  ago.  For 
a  long  time  an  old  and  large  dog,  named  Fan, 
had  been  owned  by  the  Garden.  She  showed 
strong  attachment  for  various  animals,  and  finally 
when  a  litter  of  lions  was  born,  and  the  mother 
died,  it  was  proposed  to  make  old  Fan  bring  them 


220  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

up;  so  her  own  puppies  were  surreptitiously  re- 
moved one  night  while  she  was  away,  and  the  two 
diminutive  lions  put  in  their  place,  the  only  ap- 
parent difference  between  them  being  in  color. 
When  she  returned  she  snuffed  at  the  new-comers 
but  did  not  seem  to  notice  the  change,  and  from 
that  time  assumed  entire  charge  of  them.  Soon 
they  grew  such  romping  babies  that  she  was  un- 
able to  oppose  them,  and  they  buffeted  her  about 
and  struck  her  with  their  enormous  paws  until 
undoubtedly  her  canine  mind  was  seriously  dis- 
turbed. Finally  they  grew  so  large  and  powerful 
that  to  protect  her  they  were  separated.  The  last 
time  I  saw  old  Fan  she  was  standing  looking  with 
amazement  at  her  strange  offspring. 

A  reference  to  the  animals  which  carry  their 
young  in  their  mouth  would  not  be  complete  with- 
out mentioning  the  snakes,  a  number  of  which, 
including  the  rattlesnake,  have  been  seen  to  re- 
ceive their  young  into  their  mouth  in  time  of 
danger,  and  to  move  off  with  them.  This  has  often 
been  denied,  but  the  evidence  in  favor  of  it  is  so 
authentic,  and  so  many  persons  of  reliability 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  221 

have  witnessed  the  act,  that  it  may  be  accepted 
as  a  fact.  Beyond  this  little  affection  is  exhibited 
by  the  mother  snake.  In  some  instances  when 
alarmed  the  mother  was  heard  to  utter  an  audible 
sound,  a  hiss  which  was  evidently  a  call,  upon 
which  the  young  ones  darted  toward  her  and  dis- 
appeared, presumably  down  her  throat,  to  come 
out  again  after  the  danger  had  passed.  This  has 
been  observed  in  fishes  as  well,  which  are  gener- 
ally supposed  to  have  little  or  no  affection  for 
their  young.  The  great  stud  is  is  said  to  protect 
its  progeny  in  this  way  as  well  as  the  Lau  Lau, 
the  giant  cat  fish  of  South  American  waters. 

Dr.  Abbott  records  an  instance  he  observed 
which  shows  that  the  cat-fish  mother  was  entitled 
to  no  little  credit  for  self-sacrifice.  The  brood 
was  captured  and  confined  in  a  glass  jar  on  the 
shore,  when  the  parent  actually  left  the  water  and 
crawled  upon  the  bank  to  reach  them,  and  when 
they  were  placed  by  her  side  wriggled  back  again 
with  them.  Generally  in  fishes  it  is  the  male 
which  stands  by  the  young,  and  only  in  few  excep- 
tions does  the  female  exhibit  any  affection. 


222  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

The  ants,  according  to  some  naturalists,  rank 
next  to  man  in  point  of  intelligence,  and  perhaps 
this  is  so,  if  we  judge  by  their  actions,  some  of 
which  resemble  ours.  Concerning  their  young 
they  are  very  solicitous,  and  if  their  house  or 
nest  is  disturbed,  instead  of  looking  out  for  them- 
selves they  seem  immediately  to  think  of  the  young, 
which  are  stored  away  underground,  like  so  many 
mummies,  in  some  stage  of  their  metamorphosis, 
and  even  while  covered  with  earth,  amid  what  is 
to  them  an  appalling  catastrophe,  they  seize  the 
little  white  objects,  which  look  like  grains  of  rice, 
and  rush  away  with  them  to  places  of  safety. 
Among  the  South  American  ants  very  ingenious 
methods  are  adopted  to  produce  a  food  which  is 
necessary  to  the  young.  This  consists  of  a  very 
small  and  delicate  fungus.  These  ants  may  be 
said  to  be  agriculturists,  as  they  grow  this  by  lin- 
ing their  subterraneous  homes  with  certain  leaves, 
which  as  they  decay  encourages  the  growth  of  the 
desired  food.  The  latter  is  about  as  large  as  the 
head  of  a  pin,  and  is  eaten  by  the  young  ants  with 
great  avidity.  TO  provide  such  a  supply  would 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  223 

show  that  these  little   creatures  certainly  think  ; 
instinct  cannot  explain  it. 

The  actions  of  many  of  the  large  wasps  are 
quite  as  remarkable.  Some  of  them  dig  a  tunnel 
several  inches  deep  into  the  ground.  In  the  bottom 
of  this,  which  is  both  tomb  and  nursery,  are  placed 
the  eggs  of  the  wasp,  and  upon  them  are  dropped 
spiders  and  various  insects  which  have  been  caught 
by  the  parent.  It  might  be  assumed  that  these 
animals  would  soon  decay  or  dry  up,  and  become 
useless  as  food  for  which  they  are  intended,  by 
the  time  the  eggs  are  hatched ;  but  the  wasp  has 
looked  out  for  this,  and  instead  of  killing  its  cap- 
tives outright  has  carefully  refrained  from  injuring 
them,  merely  puncturing  them  with  its  sting  which 
produces  in  the  victim  .a  state  of  coma.  In  other 
words,  the  insect  is  alive,  but  paralyzed  by  the 
sting,  and  remains  in  this  condition  until  the  eggs 
of  the  wasp  are  hatched,  when  the  young  make  it 
their  first  food.  These  large  wasps  are  extremely 
powerful  and  voracious,  and  I  have  seen  them 
dash  at  a  seventeen-year  cicada,  and  even  attempt 
to  take  it  from  me  when  I  went  to  the  rescue. 


224  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

Another  example  of  this  care  for  the  young  is 
found  in  the  mole  cricket,  so  common  in  the  South. 
This  little  iron-jawed  creature  erects  about  its  eggs 
a  perfect  fortress,  surrounded  by  moats,  secret 
passages  and  streets,  and  watches  over  them  with 
the  greatest  vigilance.  If  there  is  a  change  in  the 
weather  and  the  cold  penetrates  the  ground  the 
eggs  are  immediately  removed  to  a  nest  at  a  lower 
level,  and  after  very  damp  weather  they  are  taken 
to  the  surface  and  given  a  sun  bath  so  that  no  fun- 
goid growth  can  affect  them. 

Among  our  Indian  tribes  we  often  see  the 
pappoose  swung  to  the  mother's  back  or  carried  in 
the  way  called  pick-a-pack,  and  it  is  curious  to 
note  how  many  of  the  lower  animals  transport 
their  little  ones  in  the  same  way,  oftentimes  when 
it  requires  no  little  effort  on  the  part  of  the  parent. 
•One  of  the  most  interesting  animals  I  have  ever 
seen  was  a  large  South  American  ant-eater ;  the 

long-nosed  bushy-tailed  fellow  that  walks  upon 
the  side  of  its  feet,  so  long  are  its  claws,  whose 
scientific  name  is  Mynnecophaga  jubata.  It  stood 
upright,  peering  at  me>vvith  its  small  bead-like  eyes, 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  225 

its  great  tail  completely  covering  its  back  like  an 
umbrella,  and  as  I  watched  the  curious  creature  I 
became  aware  of  another  pair  of  eyes  and  another 
long  nose  just  above  the  head  of  the  large  one, 
and  it  soon  dawned  upon  me  that  the  ant-eater 
had  a  little  one,  and  that  it  was  perched  upon  the 
mother's  back,  completely  concealed  by  the  long 
bushy  tail  that  was  spread  over  it  like  a  canopy. 
And  this  was  the  way  the  baby,  and  sometimes 
two,  was  carried  about.  The  great  tail  serves  a 
double  purpose  :  it  not  only  covers  and  hides  the 
young  when  upon  the  mother's  back,  but  it  pro- 
tects the  ant-eater  herself,  giving  her  the  appear- 
ance of  a  great  bush. 

While  the  ant-eater  is  a  slow-going  clumsy 
beast  it  is  an  enemy  to  be  dreaded  at  close 
quarters;  the  long  sharp  claws  being  terrible 
weapons.  I  have  been  informed  that  on  one 
occasion  a  native  saw  an  ant-eater  carrying  its 
young  pick-a-pack,  as  I  have  described,  and  think- 
ing to  secure  it  for  dinner,  as  the  little  fellows  are 
considered  great  delicacies,  he  approached  and 
attacked  it  with  his  spear,  when  without  warning 


226  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

the  animal  sprang  at  him,  her  babies  rolling  off  as 
she  struck  the  unfortunate  man  so  powerful  a  blow 
with  her  claws  that  he  was  instantly  killed.  The 
claws  of  the  ant-eater  are  its  only  weapon,  being 
long,  sharp,  and  powerful  to  enable  it  to  tear  open 
the  great  ant-hills.  Its  mouth  is  extremely  small, 
and  at  the  end  of  a  long  pointed  snout,  while  the 
tongue  is  of  remarkable  length  and  perfectly 
adapted  for  the  work  it  has  to  perform. 

In  South  America  another  animal,  the  sloth, 
carries  its  young  in  the  same  manner ;  and  in  the 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  Central  Park,  there 
is  a  specimen  mounted  in  this  way,  showing  the 
little  one  upon  the  mother's  back ;  both  looking 
like  some  grotesque  creature,  manufactured  out  of 
moss  that  had  been  singed  or  badly  damaged  in  a 
fire.  This  uncanny  appearance  is  in  itself  a  pro- 
tection to  the  sloth  and  its  young ;  as  when  cling- 
ing to  the  branch  of  a  tree  they  bear  an  almost 
exact  resemblance  to  a  bunch  of  moss  or  some 
huge  fungus. 

The  brown  bear  of  Asia  carries  its  young  pick- 
a-pack,  and  when  walking  along  sedately  bearing 


ANIMALS   AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  227 

the  cubs,  one  or  two,  upon  its  back,  it  presents  a 
very  curious  appearance.  In  this  case  it  is  done 
merely  as  a  rest  for  the  little  one,  as  when  perched 
upon  the  mother's  back  it  forms  a  very  prominent 
object. 

In  Equatorial  Africa  hunters  often  see  young 
animals  in  curious  positions.  Once  when  a  party 
had  crept  up  to  a  lake  in  the  hopes  of  find- 
ing a  herd  of  elephants,  they  saw  instead  some 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  from  the  shore  a  large  baby 
hippopotamus  that  seemed  to  be  actually  standing 
on  the  water,  its  huge  clumsy  feet  resting  upon  it. 
The  hunters  supposed  that  it  was  on  a  sand  bar, 
but  as  it  soon  began  to  move  away  without  any 
motion  of  the  feet  it  became  evident  that  the 
thousand-pound  baby  was  upon  its  mother's  back. 
It  rose  gradually  higher  and  higher,  and  as  the  old 
one  moved  up  the  bank  it  was  seen  to  be  standing 
on  her  broad  back,  being  carried  up  and  clown 
stream  in  this  way. 

Among  our  own  comparatively  familiar  animals 
we  find  a  most  interesting  example  of  pick-a-pack 
riding.  The  common  opossum  of  the  South,  the 


228  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

only  pouched  animal  of  this  country,  first  carries 
its  young  in  a  pouch ;  but  when  they  are  well  gro\vn 
and  capable  of  running  about,  they  take  their  places 
upon  her  back  and  cling  there,  sometimes  six  or 
seven,  presenting  a  very  animated  appearance  ; 
their  little  black  eyes  glistening,  and  the  little  ears 
erect.  The  little  opossums  have  a  peculiar  way  of 
holding  on ;  in  this  having  an  advantage  over  al- 
most all  other  animals.  Their  tails  are  what  is 
called  prehensile,  or  have  the  faculty  of  clinging 
to  any  object  like  the  tail  of  the  so-called  ring- 
tailed  monkey ;  so  when  they  leap  upon  the  moth- 
er's back  they  clasp  their  tail  about  hers  and  so 
retain  their  hold  ;  the  mother  bending  her  tail  over 
her  back  so  that  all  may  have  a  secure  grasp,  and 
in  this  way  the  family  travels  about  among  the 
tree  tops  in  search  of  food. 

Nearly  all  the  monkeys  carry  their  young  in 
their  arms,  and  they  are  often  seen  astride  of  the 
neck,  peering  over  the  mother's  shoulder  in  a 
comical  way. 

The  whale  will  often  support  her  young  on  her 
back,  and  1  remember  an  instance  where  a  Cal- 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  229 

fornia  whale  and  calf  were  followed  in  shore  ;  the 
latter  wounded  by  the  whalers,  was  floundering 
about  and  sinking,  ultimately  to  be  drowned,  when 
the  devoted  mother  rushed  to  the  rescue,  and 
placing  herself  under  the  enormous  baby  lifted  it 
up  near  the  surface  so  that  it  rested  upon  her 
back,  and  actually  endeavored  to  carry  it  off  in 
this  position,  falling  a  victim  to  the  bomb  of  the 
whalers  while  attempting  the  rescue. 

The  sea  otter,  that  is  found  in  the  same  waters, 
is  also  noted  for  the  care  of  its  young ;  the  little 
ones  being  carried  about  in  every  conceivable 
position.  They  are  often  found  in  the  great  kelp 
beds  that  lie  between  the  breakers  and  the  shore 
in  some  parts  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  gigantic 
weed  breaks  the  force  of  the  waves,  and  forms 
a  partial  resting-place.  Here  the  otters  are  often 
seen  lying  upon  their  backs  or  swimming  about, 
bearing  their  little  ones,  and  sometimes  tossing 
them  into  the  air  just  as  human  mothers  toss  their 
babies  to  hear  their  shouts  of  merriment. 

The  dugong  with  its  grotesque,  almost  human 
face,  supports  its  young  upon  its  flippers,  and  this 


230  ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG. 

occurrence  is  probably  the  origin  of  many  of  the 
tales  of  mermaids  which  so  many  of  the  ancient 
works  contain.  The  old  voyagers,  seeing  the  cu- 
rious figure  half  out  of  water,  holding  the  young 
in  so  human  a  position,  readily  believed  it  to  be 
the  mermaid  of  which  they  had  heard. 

There  is  hardly  a  branch  of  the  animal  king- 
dom in  which  we  cannot  find  some  creature  whose 
little  ones  ride  pick-a-pack.  The  young  scorpions 
as  soon  as  born  crawl  upon  their  mother,  covering 
her  with  a  bristling  array  of  claws  and  tails,  so 
that  she  is  often  completely  hidden,  and,  terrible 
to  relate,  they  soon  devour  her  for  her  pains. 

Many  spiders  ride  about  upon  their  parent's  back, 
and  when  they  are  disposed  to  stray  away  first 
fasten  a  thread  of  silk  to  her,  as  a  sort  of  apron 
string  by  which  they  can  travel  back.  The  mother 
spiders  are  particularly  careful  of  their  young, 
and  when  bearing  the  egg  sac  about  are  very  cour- 
ageous. I  have  taken  hold  of  an  egg  bag  held  by 
a  mother,  and  had  her  dart  at  my  hand,  pull  and 
struggle,  and  only  release  her  hold  when  she  was 
actually  forced  away.  To  protect  their  nests  some 


ANIMALS    AND    THEIR    YOUNG.  23! 

species  adopt  the  most  remarkable  expedients. 
Some  make  burrows  in  the  ground  which  are  closed 
by  spring  doors  covered  by  growing  plants  placed 
there  it  is  alleged  by  the  spiders  themselves. 
Once  in  these  silk-lined  dens  the  enemy  might 
expect  to  find  the  young  spider  family,  but,  branch- 
ing off  from  the  main  tunnel,  another  will  be 
found  also  having  a  door,  which  closes  so  perfectly 
that  only  the  sharpest-eyed  enemy  can  perceive  it, 
and  here  perhaps  the  young  spiders  lie  concealed, 
feeding  on  the  results  of  their  parents'  foraging. 
Other  spiders  'envelop  their  eggs  in  a  silken 
balloon,  and  suspend  it  by  a  single  thread,  and 
thus  floating  in  the  air  it  is  safe  from  attack,  not 
only  moving  about  at  the  mercy  of  the  breeze,  but 
resembling  a  delicate  plant,  and  so  rinding  pro- 
tection. 


CHAPTER   X. 


A   TALKING    BIRD. 


HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

UITE  recently  an 
attempt  has  been 
made  by  an  emi- 
nent scientist  in 
England  to  teach 
a  dog  to  talk,  and 
the  methods  em- 
ployed were  ex- 
tremely interesting.  Blocks  of  different  colors 
were  identified  with  certain  objects,  and  in  this 
way  it  was  hoped  the  pupil  could  be  educated 
above  the  average  of  its  kind. 

It  is  incorrect  to  say  "  this  dog  or  monkey  can 
be  taught  to  speak;'  as  these  animals  already 
have  a  language  of  their  own,  and  speak  it,  and 
human  attempts  at  their  education  merely  result  in 

232 


HOW   ANIMALS    TALK.  233 

teaching  the  pupils  a  new  language  or  method  of 
expression. 

Such  efforts  at  animal  education  can  be  made 
by  any  one,  and  it  is  often  astonishing  what  ad- 
vancement the  humblest  of  the  learners  will  make. 
Object-lessons  are  best  adapted  to  their  faculties, 
and  if  success  does  not  always  follow  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  lower  animals  vary  as  to  their 
intelligence  just  as  do  human  learners ;  there  are 
the  dunces,  the  lazy  ones,  and  the  phenomenal 
students. 

In  the  selection  of  animals  to  be  trained,  only 
a  few  comparatively,  will  be  found  possessing  the 
requisite  traits,  and  here,  too,  intelligence  is  not 
always  the  result  of  breeding.  Indeed,  it  is  more 
apt  to  appear  in  mongrel  dogs  than  in  the  five  and 
ten-thousand-dollar-prize  animals  of  the  exhibition. 
I  refer  here  to  the  teachable  intelligence ;  and  in 
companies  or  troups  of  trained  dogs  those  that  de- 
velop the  greatest  proficiency  are  generally  dogs 
whose  pedigree  is  a  labyrinth  difficult  to  trace. 

In  teaching  an  animal  our  language  we  would 
first  endeavor  to  show  that  certain  objects  meant 


234  HOW   ANIMALS    TALK. 

certain  things.  Thus  if  we  have  a  block  of  a  green 
color  with  the  word  "  water '  painted  upon  it  in 
yellow  letters,  and  made  the  dog  bring  this  every 
time  he  was  thirsty,  it  would  appear  that  he  under- 
stood the  meaning  of  the  word.  But  I  have  my 
doubts  as  to  this,  and  believe  that  the  dog  asso- 
ciates the  highly-colored  block  with  water  just  as 
the  horse  or  cow  associates  the  pump  with  the 
same  ;  so  that  while  many  animals  appear  to  un- 
derstand certain  words,  I  think  they  do  so  only  in 
a  general  way,  and  that  it  is  often  the  inflection  or 
modulation  of  the  voice  that  has  the  desired  effect. 

We  must  not,  however,  judge  the  lower  animals 
harshly  simply  because  we  cannot  teach  them  to 
understand  our  language  thoroughly,  as  they  have 
their  own  means  of  communication  as  complete 
and  perfectly  adapted  to  their  needs  as  language 
is  to  ours. 

The  lower  animals  have  several  different  methods 
of  communicating  their  wants.  We  will  consider 
first,  vocal  communication ;  second,  sound  signals 
not  vocal ;  third,  talking  by  touch  ;  fourth,  by  light 
and  odor  ;  fifth,  by  signs. 


HOW    ANIMALS    TALK.  235 

The  first  method  is  common  among  nearly  all 
animals;  the  whales  —  though  some  authorities  in- 
sist that  the  whale  has  a  voice  —  and  the  major- 
ity of  fishes  being  the  exceptions.  Among  birds 
especially,  the  vocal  speech  is  understood  and  ad- 
mired. 

As  an  example  of  bird-language,  the  ordinary 
domestic  fowl  presents  the  most  interesting  and 
perfect  range,  so  common  that  it  is  rarely  appreci- 
ated or  reflected  upon  ;  not  a  few  will  be  aston- 
ished at  the  vocal  possibilities  of  the  hen  if  they 
will  give  the  subject  a  little  investigation. 

Knowing  that  the  hen  has  a  voice,  we  assume 
that  its  office  is  to  afford  communication  between 
individuals.  Half  an  hour  in  a  farmyard  will  be- 
yond question  demonstrate  this,  and  that  certain 
sounds  are  the  equivalents  of  wprds.  The  crow  of 
the  cock  is  assuredly  a  challenge,  the  moment 
another  bird  is  noticed,  and  is  kept  up  either  in 
advance  or  retreat.  It  is  sounded  in  the  morning 
in  answer  to  others,  and  is  comparable  to  the  chal- 
lenge or  war  cry  of  many  savage  tribes,  or  even 
the  answering  shouts  of  college  boys  or  men,  that 


OF   THE 

TJNIVERS1 


236  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

are  unexplainable  on  other  grounds  than  a  chal- 
lenge of  merits. 

Observing  closely  our  rooster,  accompanied  by 
his  family,  we  notice  that  the  hens  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  the  challenge  ;  but  let  him  find  some  deli- 
cacy, he  utters  a  succession  of  short  notes,  "Tuck, 
tuck,  tuck,  tuck !  "  upon  which  the  others  rush  about 
him  eager  to  share.  Again,  if  a  hawk  flies  overhead, 
the  cock,  guardian  of  the  flock,  raises  his  head  and 
utters  a  prolonged  note,  as  different  from  the  for- 
mer as  possible ;  "  Ka-r-r-r-e,"  he  seems  to  say, 

jri 

which  translated  into  English  means  "  look  out  for 
the  hawk  !  run !  "  and  immediately  hens  and  chick- 
ens duck  their  heads  and  rush  for  cover.  Now  let 
a  dog  dart  after  the  head  of  this  family,  and  listen 
to  the  clucks  and  other  sounds  coming  fast  and 
furious  -  -  protests  in  every  intonation. 

The  hen  cannot  crow,  but  she  has  in  other  re- 
spects as  perfect  control  of  language  as  her  master. 
Indeed,  she  can  sing ;  purely  a  self-congratulatory 
performance  expressive  of  deep  contentment  and 
complete  satisfaction,  heard  when  hens  are  let  out 
and  they  are  running  for  food,  and  upon  warm  days 


HOW    ANIMALS    TALK.  237 

in  spring  it  is  a  "  kerr,  kerr,  kerr,"  differing  in  its 
modulation  and  intonation  in  individuals.  How 
different  is  this  from  the  sharp  "  cluck,  cluck  "  of 
the  mother-hen.  The  latter  is  a  general  warning 
to  everybody,  and  plainly  says,  "  I  have  a  young 
family,  and  must  be  let  alone."  If  a  grain  is  found 
how  suddenly  this  is  changed  to  the  quick  call, 
"  Tuck,  tuck,  tuck  ! "  upon  hearing  which  the  little 
ones  come  rushing  pell-mell ;  and  they  understand 
it  the  moment  they  leave  the  shell.  Indeed  the 
different  notes,  or  "baby  talk,"  of  a  hen  are  of 

M» 

great  variety.  No  one  would  think  of  saying  that 
the  "cut,  cut,  ca-da-cut"  was  a  call.  It  says  as 
plain  as  words  can  tell,  "I  have  laid  an  egg,"  and 
the  bright  little  egg-hunter  who  hears  immediately 
starts  for  the  hay  loft,  as  a  favorite  hound  of  mine 
was  in  a  habit  of  doing.  She  understood  hen 
language,  and  fed  upon  freshly-laid  eggs  for  some 
time  before  I  discovered  that  she  was  such  a  lin- 
guist. The  moment  "  cut,  cut,  ca-dfo-cut "  was 
heard  she  trotted  to  the  hen  coop. 

When   the  little   chicks  are  nestled  under  the 
mother  another  sound  is  heard,  a  prolonged  hoarse 


238  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

"  c-r-a-w-z-z-e,  c-r-a-w-z-z-e,"  which  I  copy  from  a 
happy  mother  in  my  possession  without  the  aid  of 
a  phonograph.  Enter  a  chicken-coop  at  night, 
and  a  soft  whistling  noise  is  made,  a  gentle  chirp- 
ing by  the  birds,  sounding  something  like  "  w-h-o- 
o-i-e,"  rapidly  repeated,  that  speaks  plainly  of 
apprehension.  If  a  chicken  is  seized  by  the  leg 
the  "  c-r-a-i-a-i-o-u,  c-r-a-i-a-i-o-u  "  that  follows  could 
never  be  construed  into  anything  but  a  wail  of 
anguish.  So  if  we  commence  a  dictionary  of  the 
domestic  fowl-language  we  might  have  the  follow- 
ing as  a  basis  : 

Ur-ka-do-dle-do-o-o.     Challenge  of  male. 

Tuck,  t^tck,  tuck.     Food  call  of  male. 

K-a-r-r-e.     Announcing  presence  of  hawk. 

Cut,  cut,  ca-da-cnt.     Announcement  of  egg  laying. 

Cluck,  cluck,  cluck.     Call  of  young. 

Kerr,  kerr,  kerr.     Song  of  contentment  of  hen. 

C-r-a-w-z-z-e.     Quieting  young  chicks. 

W-h-o-o-i-g  (whistle).    Expression  of  apprehension  at  night. 

C-r-a-i-a-i-o-u.     Terror  and  protest  at  capture. 

These  sounds  of  course  vary  in  individuals  ;  that 
is,  in  the  intonation,  as,  like  persons,  no  two  birds 
can  utter  the  same  vocal  sounds. 


HOW   ANIMALS    TALK.  239 

This  can  be  applied  to  other  birds,  and  those 
who  have  listened  to  the  notes  of  a  robin  in  its 
attempts  to  teach  its  young  to  fly,  and  many  other 
birds,  well  know  something  of  the  range  of  their 
vocal  resources.  Birds  differ  in  this- respect.  The 
notes  of  the  owl  are  a  mournful  hooting,  accom- 
panied by  a  hiss  as  a  protest.  A  brown  pelican 
which  I  kept  as  a  pet,  was  limited  to  an  asthmatic 
wheeze.  The  so-called  language  of  parrots,  mino 
birds,  ravens,  and  bullfinches  is  merely  the  expres- 
sion of  an  imitative  faculty  wonderfully  developed ; 
their  sayings  appearing  to  result  from  intelligent 
thought  simply  because  they  are  often  uttered  by 
accident  at  an  appropriate  time ;  but  it  is  needless 
to  say  that  the  birds  do  not  understand  what  they 
are  uttering,  and  repeat  the  sounds,  just  as  a  car- 
riage dog  places  himself  between  the  wheels  from 
habit. 

Among  the  higher  animals,  as  the  mammals,  we 
find  a  wide  range  of  "  words,"  as  we  will  call  the 
sounds  uttered.  Between  the  howl  of  a  stray  or 
lonesome  dog  and  its  gladsome  bark  upon  meeting 
its  master,  there  is  the  greatest  possible  difference. 


240  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

The  musical  baying  of  the  hound,  the  howl  of  pain, 
the  whining  and  whimpering,  the  bark  at  a  foe 
are  all  totally  different  expressions  of  as  various 
emotions. 

A  little  dog  owned  by  me  for  a  number  of  years 
always  seemed  to  have  a  command  of  language, 
and  to  understand  English.  When  thirsty  he 
would  give  a  sharp  bark  oft  repeated,  run  a  few 
steps  toward  the  water  faucet,  and  look  at  it,  then 
at  me,  repeating  the  act  several  times.  If  I  per- 
sisted in  misunderstanding  him,  as  I  often  did,  he 
would  seize  my  sleeve  in  his  mouth  and  endeavor 
to  lead  me  to  the  water  ;  as  much  as  to  say,  "  if 
you  can't  understand  plain  dog-talk  I  will  try  and 
show  you."  This  little  dog  was  educated  by  a 
German,  and  when  we  first  obtained  him,  evidently 
did  not  understand  English,  though  he  quickly 
learned.  Every  morning  the  servant  who  took  in 
the  mail  would  give  it  to  him  and  tell  him  to  carry 
it  upstairs,  which  he  would  always  do.  Sometimes 
he  would  find  the  door  closed,  when  the  girl  would 
call  out  "  tell  them  to  let  you  in,"  upon  which  he 
would  bark,  and  if  told,  "  they  don't  hear  you ; 


HOW   ANIMALS    TALK.  241 

speak  louder,"  he  would  utter  a  louder  bark,  and 
come  dancing  into  the  room  with  every  evidence 
of  delight  and  importance. 

Some  dogs  talk  by  signs  only,  and  all  dogs  and 
many  animals  express  their  emotions  by  certain 
movements  not  to  be  mistaken.  Thus  a  dog  ex- 
presses rage  by  its  lowering  appearance.  The 
hair  upon  its  back  stands  erect,  the  tail  is  moved 
in  a  suggestive  manner,  while  the  lip  is  lifted  over 
the  canine  teeth,  an  act  similar  to  the  human 
sneer  in  which  the  same  tooth  is  exposed.  Joy, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  evinced  by  an  excessive 
wagging  of  the  tail,  many  dogs  lifting  the  lips  and 
showing  all  the  teeth,  or  laughing,  the  entire  body 
undergoing  a  screw-like  movement. 

In  a  cat  the  actions  are  equally  suggestive.  Joy 
is  expressed  by  purring,  and  rubbing  the  body 
affectionately  against  one,  the  tail  being  elevated. 
The  appearance  of  a  dog  will  produce  an  instan- 
taneous change.  The  ears  fall  back,  the  tail  seems 
to  assume  twice  its  natural  size,  the  back  is  eleva- 
ted, and.  all  the  signs  are  fighting-signals  not  to  be 
mistaken  by  man  or  beast 


242  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

The  elephant,  one  of  the  most  seemingly  taci- 
turn of  animals,  has  several  ways  of  expressing  its 
wants  and  desires,  though  these  sounds  have  a 
different  meaning  imputed  to  them  in  India  and 
Ceylon.  The  shrill  cry  uttered  through  the  nose 
or  trunk  is  indicative  of  rage.  Warning  is  given 
by  one  elephant  to  another  by  a  sound  uttered  by 
the  lips  resembling  the  word  "  prut,"  or  the  twit- 
tering of  a  bird ;  and  wild  elephants  have  been 
heard  to  make  a  sound  resembling  that  produced 
by  a  cooper  in  hammering  a  cask. 

Elephants  often  express  their  pleasure  by  a 
squeaking  noise,  though  I  have  heard  the  same 
when  they  were  prodded  by  the  keeper.  These 
animals  often  purr  gently  to  express  their  pleasure 
or  satisfaction,  the  sound  being  audible  to  the 
driver  only.  Rage  is  commonly  expressed  by  a 
hoarse  rumbling  in  the  throat,  and  fear  by  a  rever- 
berating roar ;  suspicion  is  conveyed  to  others  by 
rapping  the  trunk  upon  the  ground,  producing  a 
sound  resembling  that  of  tin  being  doubled  up, 
which  is  an  example  of  a  sound-signal,  not  pro- 
duced by  the  voice. 


HOW    ANIMALS    TALK.  243 

Reptiles  are  particularly  deficient  in  vocal 
sounds.  Among  crocodiles  and  alligators  the 
males  roar  like  bulls,  and  both  sexes  hiss ;  but 
simple  as  the  latter  is  I  am  confident  that  by  its 
intonation  it  is  expressive  of  different  emotions ; 
yet  so  alike  are  the  utterances  in  tone  that  they 
are  perhaps  not  distinguishable  by  man. 

That  the  hiss  of  the  snake  is  a  means  of  com- 
munication there  can  be  no  doubt.  This  is  well 
shown  in  the  following  letter  written  me  by  Colo- 
nel Nicholas  Pike,  late  consul  to  Mauritius,  which 
demonstrates  that  the  mother-snake  unquestionably 
calls  her  little  ones  to  her.  As  the  letter  contains 
some  new  and  valuable  testimony  regarding  the 
protection  of  young  snakes,  I  give  it  entire : 

DEAR  MR.  HOLDER: 

There  has  been  a  controversy  for  years  among  naturalists 
relative  to  the  question  do  snakes  swallow  their  young,  and 
there  are  many  professors  of  Herpetology  at  the  present  day 
who  ridicule  the  idea.  I  have  been  cognizant  of  the  fact  for 
over  fifty  years.  When  a  boy  I  began  my  studies  in  Her- 
petology, and  was  not  satisfied  with  knowing  the  names  of 
our  reptiles,  but  sought  them  in  the  fields,  swamps,  and 
forests.  I  learned  much  of  their  habits,  and  from  time  to 


244  HOW   ANIMALS    TALK. 

time  kept  them  in  confinement,  and  have  reared  many. 
Prof.  C.  Brown  Goode,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  read 
a  very  interesting  paper  on  the  subject  before  the  Amer. 
Inst,  for  the  advancement  of  Science  at  Portland,  Me.,  Aug. 
'73,  which  ought  to  have  settled  the  question. 

The  first  time  this  came  under  my  notice  was  in  July, 
1830.  I  was  roaming  over  the  fields  when  I  saw  a  good- 
sized  garter-snake  (Eutaenia  sirtalis}  very  near  me  with 
numerous  young  ones  around  her.  As  I  approached  her  she 
placed  her  head  flat  on  the  ground,  opening  her  mouth  and 
making  a  peculiar  noise  the  little  onq^evidently  understood, 
for  they  all  ran  into  her  oesophagus.  I  picked  her  up  by 
the  neck  and  put  her  in  a  bag,  and  took  her  home.  On  ex- 
amination I  found  I  had  about  twenty  snakes  including  the 
mother.  They  were  kept  together  in  a  box,  and  when  I  told 
the  story  to  my  friends  they  ridiculed  me.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  every  person  in  the  house  was  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  my  assertions,  from  witnessing  the  fact  them- 
selves. 

I  met  with  a  curious  incident  some  years  ago.  While 
hunting  snakes  in  the  swamp  at  Melrose,  I  came  across  a 
male  and  female  striped  snake  with  numerous  young  ones. 
The  parents  were  near  each  other,  the  family  crawling  over 
and  around  them.  I  was  going  for  them,  when  on  second 
thought  I  concluded  to  watch  them.  They  did  not  appear 
frightened,  but  went  on  gamboling  about  for  some  time.  I 
went  a  little  nearer  when  both  snakes  turned  toward  me, 
making  a  faint  noise,  placed  their  heads  flat  on  the  ground 
and  received  the  young  as  stated  before.  It  was  a  curious 
sight  to  see  these  young  snakes  not  long  born,  some  of  them 
a  foot  or  two  away,  turn  at  the  noise  and  instantly  seek 


HOW    ANIMALS    TALK.  245 

refuge.  I  am  certain  it  was  a  note  of  warning  of  danger.  I 
caught  both  snakes  and  put  them  in  separate  bags.  The 
female  had  ten  young  and  the  male  had  swallowed  five. 
This  is  the  first  instance  of  any  notice  of  a  male  snake  per- 
forming this  affectionate  duty  for  its  young.  I  placed  the 
whole  family  in  a  box  where  they  lived  peaceably  a  long 
time. 

Mr.  Julian  Hooper  and  myself  encountered  a  large 
water  snake  (G.  sipedon)  on  the  banks  of  a  small  pond  in 
Durham  swamp.  I  was  about  to  capture  her  when  we  saw 
a  number  of  young  entering  her  mouth,  and  before  I  could 
strike  her  she  entered  the  pond.  I  immediately  swept  the 
pond  with  my  net,  and  in  two  or  three  minutes  captured  her, 
but  on  examination  could  find  no  young.  She  had  evidently 
in  that  short  space  of  time  deposited  them  under  some  tus- 
sock in  the  bank  out  of  harm's  way,  What  instinct  for  the 
preservation  of  her  young! 

I  have  also  seen  the  Eutaenia  sanritay  Heterodon,  platy- 
rhinos^  and  the  Crotalus  horrida  perform  this  act  for  their 
young.  Some  rattlesnakes  kept  in  confinement  frequently 
did  the  same  with  their  progeny  when  frightened.  The 
beating  of  a  drum  near  the  case  seemed  to  terrify  the  old 
ones  so  that  at  the  first  tap  they  would  secrete  the  young  in 
the  oesophagus,  and  vibrate  their  tails  furiously,  and  they 
would  not  release  the  little  ones  till  the  noise  ceased.  I 
could  relate  numerous  instances  I  have  seen  where  different 
species  of  snakes  have  thus  protected  their  young.  I  was 
assured  by  a  Portuguese  naturalist  in  Rio  that  he  had  seen  a 
number  of  the  water  snakes  swallow  their  young,  also  a  boa 
constrictor. 

Jan.  4,  '87.  NICHOLAS  PIKE. 


246  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

Among  the  insects  we  find  examples  of  a  lan- 
guage produced  by  sounds  not  vocal.  The  grass- 
hoppers, locusts,  and  crickets  are  familiar  forms 
among  the  noisy  insects.  In  the  first  named, 
Acrydii,  the  most  deafening  sound  is  produced 
not  from  the  mouth,  as  one  might  suppose,  but  by 
rubbing  the  thighs  against  the  fore-wings,  so  that 
it  is  really  the  result  of  fiddling.  If  the  leg  of 
a  grasshopper  is  examined  with  a  microscope  the 
ridge  of  fine  teeth  that  produce  the  rasping  sound, 
will  be  seen. 

Among  the  locusts,  whose  singing  is  often  heard 
above  everything  else,  the  base  of  the  anterior 
wing  is  transparent,  forming  a  drum  with  which 
the  males  utter  shrill  calls ;  the  sounds  in  different 
species  differing,  and  also  it  is  said  between  day 
and  night. 

The  familiar  katydid  utters  the  curious  notes  for 
which  it  is  named,  by  rubbing  the  inner  surface  of 
the  hind  legs  against  the  outer  surface  of  the  front 
wings.  The  shrill  cry  of  the  male  cricket  is  made 
by  elevating  the  fore-wings  and  rubbing  them 
against  the  hind  ones. 


HOW    ANIMALS    TALK.  247 

The  penetrating  call  of  the  cicada  is  produced 
by  a  drum-like  organ  at  the  base  of  the  abdomen. 
So  here  we  have  a  veritable  band  of  musicians, 
fiddlers  and  drummers,  whose  notes  constitute 
their  simple  language.  Many  beetles  and  some 
butterflies  produce  a  clicking  sound. 

That  ants  and  various  insects  have  a  means  of 
communication  few  can  doubt  who  watch  them 
attentively.  Some  ants  when  meeting  are  seen  to 
touch  each  other  with  their  antennae,  and  in  a 
former  chapter  we  have  seen  that  a  blind  beetle 
seemed  to  request  food  by  tapping  an  ant.  Mr. 
Forel,  a  French  naturalist,  records  some  very 
interesting  instances  of  undoubted  communication 
between  ants,  and  Sir.  John  Lubbock  demonstra- 
ted to  his  satisfaction  that  ants  had  some  means 
of  communication  by  a  series  of  interesting  experi- 
ments. For  example,  a  fly  was  presented  to  an  ant 
and  pinned  down.  The  ant  after  tugging  at  it  for 
half  an  hour  went  to  the  nest  and  immediately 
came  out  with  five  or  six  companions.  This  experi- 
ment always  resulted  in  the  same  way,  a  certain 
number  of  ants  appearing  evidently  in  answer 


248  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

to  the  request  of  the  discoverer  of  the  food 
supply. 

Whether  fishes  have  a  vocal  communication  is 
difficult  to  determine.  That  they  hear  is  well 
known,  and  nearly  one  hundred  species  have  been 
heard  to  utter  audible  sounds  out  of  water,  this 
probably  representing  a  very  small  proportion  of 
the  finny  sound  makers.  How  far  such  sounds  can 
be  heard  with  water  as  a  medium  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  but  I  have  often  gone  beneath  the  surface 
with  another  swimmer  to  determine  the  distance 
that  sound  could  be  heard,  and  the  clinking  of 
rocks  was  audible  many  feet,  so  it  would  appear 
that  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  transmission 
of  sound  waves. 

During  an  extended  stay  in  the  tropics  I  had 
many  opportunities  for  observing  the  habits  and 
ways  of  unfamiliar  fishes,  and  I  shall  never  forget 
my  first  experience  with  one  of  these  "  talkers." 
I  was  fishing  in  the  channel,  and  hauled  in  a  little 
fish  about  six  inches  long,  of  grey  iridescent  hues 
and  a  very  large  mouth.  The  moment  I  unhooked 
it,  still  holding  it  in  my  hand,  it  gave  vent  to  the 


UNIVERSITY 


HOW   ANIMALS    TALK.  251 

most  remarkable  series  of  grunts  and  groans  I  had 
ever  listened  to.  I  tossed  it  into  the  boat,  upon 
which  its  appeals,  for  so  they  seemed,  were  re- 
doubled, and  that  they  were  not  ineffectual  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  I  quickly  returned  the  supplicant 
to  its  native  element.  That  these  sounds  were 
expressive  of  pain  and  terror  I  have  not  the  slight- 
est doubt.  The  name  of  this  talker  is  Haemulon, 
its  common  one  "  the  grunt."  It  represents  a  large 
family,  many  of  which  utter  vigorous  protests  when 
caught.  I  have  heard  the  dog-fish,  a  small  shark, 
common  on  our  Eastern  coast,  utter  a  loud  croak, 
easily  construed  into  a  bark.  The  little  porcupine 
fish,  the  cow-fish,  a  great  porgy,  and  the  grouper, 
common  on  the  outer  Florida  reef,  have  alt  talked 
to  me  as  I  unhooked  them. 

The  sounds  made  by  fishes  are  produced  in  dif- 
ferent ways,  and  many  are  undoubtedly  involun- 
tary. Some  are  due  to  the  action  of  the  pneumatic 
duct  and  swimming  bladder  while  others  are  pro- 
duced by  the  lips  or  the  pharyngeal  or  intermaxil- 
lary bones.  Under  this  head  come  the  sounds 
uttered  by  the  carp,  tench,  and  others.  The  fishes 


252  HOW   ANIMALS   TALK. 

of  the  genus  Trigla  and  Zeus  utter  a  low  murmur- 
ing sound,  probably  produced  from  the  swimming 
bladder  which  has  a  diaphragm  and  muscles  for 
opening  and  closing  it. 

The  loudest  sounds  are  made  by  the  drum-fish, 
Pogonias  chromis,  and  off  the  New  Jersey  shores 
remarkable  noises  have  been  heard,  accredited  to 
them.  Some  observers  say  that  the  sound  is  pro- 
duced by  the  fishes  striking  their  tails  against  the 
vessel's  bottom  ;  others  again  consider  it  due  to 
the  clapping  together  of  the  teeth. 

The  noises  made  by  cat-fishes  and  eels  are  pro- 
duced by  forcing  air  from  the  swimming  bladder 
into  the  oesophagus,  and,  according  to  Dr.  C.  C. 
Abbott,  the  latter  produce  a  more  distinctly  musi- 
cal sound  than  any  others  observed  by  him.  The 
note,  a  single  one,  frequently  repeated  has  a 
slightly  metallic  resonance. 

Some  of  my  young  readers  may  think  that  be- 
cause the  sounds  are  uttered  from  the  air  bladder 
they  may  have  no  meaning ;  but  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  air-bladder  of  fishes  is  homol- 
ogous to  the  lungs  of  the  higher  backboned  ani- 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


HOW  ANIMALS   TALK. 

mals,  and  the  pneumatic  duct  referred  to  as  a 
producer  of  sounds  is  to  be  compared,  as  regards 
its  function,  with  the  trachea  of  birds  and  milk- 
givers. 

The  curious  little  sea-horse,  remarkable  for  its 
method  of  protecting  its  eggs,  utters  low  sounds, 
supposed  to  be  due  to  the  vibrations  of  certain 
small  voluntary  muscles.  The  mud  sunfish  is  said 
to  make  a  grunting  sound,  and  I  have  heard  the  low 
growl-like  croak  of  the  chub  or  Semotilus  on  the 
St.  Lawrence.  The  gizzard  shad,  Dorosoma  ceped- 
ianwn,  utters  a  whirring  sound,  the  chub-sucker, 
Erimyzon  oblongum,  a  single  note,  followed  by  a 
discharge  of  air  bubbles,  while  the  cat-fish,  Amiu- 
rus  lynx,  makes  a  gentle  humming  sound. 

An  English  officer,  Lieutenant  White,  has  placed 
on  record  a  wonderful  instance  where  in  the  China 
Sea  the  sounds  that  came  up  from  the  deep  were 
so  loud  and  piercing,  so  strange  and  uncanny  as 
to  alarm  the  superstitious  seamen.  They  were 
described  as  resembling  the  clanging  of  bells,  the 
twanging  of  a  gigantic  harp,  and  the  escaping  of 
steam.  The  notes  were  continuous  for  some  hours, 


254  HOW   ANIMALS    TALK. 

and  were  attributed  to  a  school  of  unknown  fishes 
in  the  vicinity. 

The  cuckoo  gurnard  is  said  to  utter  a  grunting 
sound,  and  I  have  heard  the  bark  or  grunt  of  one 
of  our  common  gurnards  at  a  distance  of  twenty 
feet. 

Aristotle  and  ^Elian  both  refer  to  the  sound- 
emitting  fishes  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  Cey- 
lonese  fishermen  are  familiar  with  a  fish,  found  in 
the  lake  of  Colombo,  which  they  call  magoora, 
which  makes  an  audible  grunt  when  disturbed, 
and  Pallegoix  in  his  history  of  Siam  refers  to  a 
brilliant  fish  resembling  our  flounder,  that  the 
natives  call  the  "dog's  tongue,"  which  attaches 
itself  to  the  bottom  of  a  boat  and  gives  out  a  mel- 
ody of  sounds,  though  it  might  appear  the  contrary 
to  us. 

Some  years  ago  considerable  excitement  was 
occasioned  at  Batticaloa,  Ceylon,  by  the  report  that 
musical  sounds  were  heard  rising  from  the  sea  in 
various  places.  Sir.  E.  Tennent  visited  the  locality, 
and  interrogated  several  fishermen  who  had  heard 

o 

the  noises  and  described  them  as  resembling  the 


HOW    ANIMALS    TALK.  255 

faint  sweet  notes  of  an  ^Eolian  harp.  According 
to  the  men  the  sounds  were  only  audible  during 
the  dry  season,  and  they  had  always  known  of 
them,  and  their  fathers  before  them.  They  stated 
that  it  was  not  a  fish  that  sang,  but  a  shell  or  mol- 
lusk  which  they  called  in  the  Tamil  tongue  the 

J  O 

oorie  cookeroo  cradoo,  or  crying  shell ;  the  name 
evidently  being  an  attempt  to  reproduce  the  sound. 
The  men  soon  pointed  out  some  of  the  musicians 
which  proved  to  be  the  shells  known  to  science  as 
Littorina  Iceris  and  Cerithium  palustre.  Sir.  E. 
Tennent  employed  the  men  to  take  him  to  the 
place,  and  one  moonlight  night  they  rowed  him 
to  a  spot  about  two  hundred  yards  northeast  of 
the  jetty  by  the  fort  gate.  When  the  boat  rested 
in  perfect  silence,  not  a  breath  of  wind  blowing, 
he  distinctly  heard  the  musical  notes.  "  They 
came  up  from  the  water,"  he  says,  "  like  the  gentle 
thrills  of  a  musical  chord  or  the  faint  vibrations  of 
a  wine-glass  when  its  rim  is  rubbed  by  a  moistened 
finger.  It  was  not  one  sustained  note,  but  a  mul- 
titude of  tiny  sounds,  each  clear  and  distinct  in 
itself ;  the  sweetest  treble  mingled  with  the  lowest 


356  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

bass.  On  applying  the  ear  to  the  woodwork  of 
the  boat,  the  vibration  was  greatly  increased  in 
volume.  The  sounds  varied  considerably  at  dif- 
ferent points  as  we  moved  across  the  lake,  as  if 
the  numbers  of  the  animals  from  which  they  pro- 
ceded  were  greatest  in  particular  spots,  and  occa- 
sionally we  rowed  out  of  hearing  of  them  altogether 
until  on  returning  to  the  original  locality  the 
sounds  were  at  once  renewed." 

Such  sounds  have  been  recorded  from  several 
localities  in  India.  A  party  was  once  passing  from 
the  promontory  Salsette  to  near  Sewree  in  the 
harbor  of  Bombay  when  they  were  astonished  to 
hear  sounds  like  the  protracted  booming  of  a  bell, 
the  notes  of  an  yEolian  harp,  or  a  pitch  pipe,  or 
any  long-drawn  musical'  note.  They  at  first 
thought  it  music  from  the  shore,  but  it  was  soon 
found  to  come  from  all  about,  and  the  boatmen 
said  that  it  was  caused  by  numbers  of  fishes  that 
were  found  there.  By  placing  the  ear  against  the 
rail  of  the  boat  the  sounds  were  heard  with  great 
distinctness. 

Similar  occurrences   have  been  reported  from 


How  ANIMALS  TALK:.  257 

the  waters  at  Caldera,  Chili,  and  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Pascagonla  creek,  Miss. 

While  the  information  concerning  sound-produc- 
ing mollusks  is  very  meagre,  some  investigations 
have  been  made.  Dr.  Grant  experimented  upon 
the  Tritonia  arborescens  and  found  it  produced  a 
sound  under  water  like  "  clink  ; '  as  if  a  piece  of 
steel  wire  was  struck  against  the  glass  at  short 
intervals.  Dr.  Grant  made  his  experiments  in  the 
presence  of  the  members  of  the  Wernerian  Nat- 
ural History  Society  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  listeners 
around  the  table  distinctly  heard  the  "clink-clink" 
of  the  little  Tritonia  at  a  distance  of  twelve  feet, 
and  the  combined  efforts  of  hundreds,  perhaps 
thousands,  might  easily  produce  a  loud  volume  of 
musical  sounds.  I  have  heard  a  similar  noise 
proceed  from  the  great  conch,  Strombus  gigas,  also 
a  clinking;  and  undoubtedly  investigation  would 
show  that  numbers  of  marine  animals  are  capable 
of  uttering  sounds  that  have  their  meaning  in  the 
economy  of  nature. 

The  fact  that  innumerable  animals  are  pos- 
sessed with  light-emitting  organs  suggests  the 


258  HOW    ANIMALS    TALK. 

belief  that  the  consequent  flashes  and  gleams  of 
light  often  under  control  of  the  animal,  constitute 
a  sign  language.  In  the  case  of  a  fire-fly  it  has 
been  proven  that  is  used  as  a  signal  or  call,  a  gen- 
tleman holding  one  up  so  that  its  light  was  visible, 
immediately  its  companions  approached  it. 

In  almost  every  branch  of  the  animal  kingdom 
we  find  these  marvelous  light-bearers :  fishes,  in- 
sects, echinoderms,  inollusks,  worms,  medusae,  cor- 
als, infusorians,  crustaceans,  all  have  their  lights, 
varying  greatly  in  color  and  intensity. 

One  fish,  Malacosteus  niger,  has  two  gleaming 
lights  upon  its  head,  yellow  and  green  respectively. 
The  Appendicularia,-a  little  degenerate  vertebrate, 
emits  three  distinct  colors ;  the  crustaceans  glow 
with  blue  tints,  and  that  this  wondrous  phenom- 
enon has  its  meaning  and  use  we  cannot  doubt. 
It  is  the  sign-language  of  the  lower  animals,  warn- 
ing or  attracting  as  the  case  may  be. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

O  those  who  have 
cared  to  watch  the 
actions  of  the  vari- 
ous animal  forms 
which  frequent 
woodla  nd  and 
stream  it  is  evident 
that  they  not  only 
have  a  sense  of 
something  akin  to 
humor,  but  have 

games  and   sports  with  which  to  pass  the    time 

away. 

Naturally  this  is  more  noticeable  among  young 

animals.      Particularly    sportive    are    the   fishes, 

though  this  is  not  generally  known  from  the  diffi- 

259 


260       THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

culty  in  making  observations,  as  these  odd  play- 
fellows will  not  indulge  in  their  pranks  if  aware  of 
being  watched. 

One  of  the  most  fascinating  pastimes  that  I  ever 
engaged  in  was  to  play  the  spy  upon  a  submarine 
fish-village  ;  and  many  a  curious  performance  did 
I  witness.  My  point  of  observation  was  an  old 
wharf  not  many  miles  from  the  city  of  Havana. 
It  was  built  out  into  the  Gulf  Stream,  but  long 
ago  had  fallen  before  the  teredo,  and  its  piles  had 
crumbled  until  it  rested  just  above  the  water  like 
a  hugh  raft  ready  to  be  launched. 

In  this  warm  country  shade  was  acceptable  to 
even  shore-loving  fishes,  and  beneath  the  protect- 
ing shadow  of  the  old  dock  large  numbers  of  what 
I  soon  began  to  term  "  my  finny  friends  "  would 
congregate.  The  planks  were  everywhere  pierced 
with  auger  holes  to  let  off  water  in  the  days  when 
the  wharf  was  in  use,  and  by  lying  flat  and  apply- 
ing my  eyes  to  these  port-holes  I  looked  down 
upon  the  neighborhood  unobserved.  The  shore 
here  was  a  pure  silvery  sand,  quite  sloping,  so  that 
it  afforded  an  extended  field  for  observation ;  the 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.        261 

inshore  portion  of  about  twelve  feet  being  the 
resort  of  small  fishes,  while  from  there  to  the 
channel  large  forms  made  their  headquarters. 

Almost  the  first  impression  received  from  watch- 
ing these  fishes  was  that  they  were  domestic  ;  in 
other  words,  they  had  a  home-life.     As  soon  as  I 
learned  to  distinguish  certain  ones  I  found  them 
day  after  day  about  the  same  stumps  or  posts,  never 
venturing  far  away.     The  fishes  which  made  up 
this  suburban  settlement,  seemed  to  be  of  infinite 
variety  ;  but  perhaps  altogether  there  were  twenty 
or  thirty  different  kinds,  including  the  stragglers 
which  came  in  from  time  to  time,  perhaps  on  a 
visit,  from  an  old  wreck  that  was  another  favorite 
spot  not  one  hundred  feet  distant.     There  were 
angel-fishes  in  gorgeous  garbs  of  yellow,  blue,  and 
black ;    snappers  of  rich  brown  hues,  and  their 
cousins,  the  grunts ;  some  striped  black-and-white, 
others  mottled  with  old  gold  and  vermilion,  all 
together  a  very  brilliant  assemblage.     Then  there 
were  minute  fishes  resembling  a  sapphire  in  color, 
actually  scintillating  as  they  darted  about,  while 
cow-fish  with  veritable  horns,  doctor-fish  with  Ian- 


262       THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

cet  ready,  an  occasional  remora  with  its  curious 
sucking  disk,  the  lithe  barracuda,  the  spiny  porcu- 
pine, and  many  more. 

There  always  appeared  to  be  the  best  under- 
standing between  these  villagers,  if  I  except  the 
barracuda  and  the  doctor-fish.  The  former  was 
apt,  when  no  one  was  looking,  to  move  silently  and 
slowly  in  shore,  and  pick  up  and  devour  an  infant 
fish  ;  while  the  doctor  had  a  habit  of  trying  to 
lance  any  one  that  came  too  close.  But  among  so 
many  there  were  not  very  disturbing  elements,  and 
to  the  little  fishes  especially  every  day  was  a  holi- 
day, and  to  eat  and  enjoy  themselves  was  the  one 
object  in  life. 

A  game  of  tag  was  perhaps  the  commonest  per- 
formance. One  little  fish  would  dart  at  another, 
and  then  be  joined  by  several  others,  until  finally 
a  dozen  or  more  would  be  seen  following  the 
leader,  who  darted  around  the  piles  and  posts, 
finally  joining  the  throng  to  in  turn  chase  some 
other  fish  which  seemed  now  to  be  selected  as 
"  It."  Sometimes  "  It  "  was  caught ;  but  there 
never  was  the  slightest  roughness  to  show  that  any- 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.        263 

thing  but  pleasantry  was  the  object,  and  when  a 
playfellow  was  "  tagged  "  that  ended  it ;  the  game 
either  being  stopped  or  the  chase  transferred  to 
another  fish.  I  rarely  visited  the  fish  village  but 
such  a  game  was  going  on. 

Very  often  in  midday,  when  the  sun  was  beating 
down  fiercely,  a  large  school  of  sardines,  little 
fishes  allied  to  the  herring,  would  take  shelter 
beneath  the  old  dock.  Packed  side  by  side,  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  would  lie  with  their  heads 
in  one  direction,  all  taking  a  midday  siesta,  as  the 
naps  of  fishes  go.  So  large  were  these  schools  that 
they  sometimes  entirely  filled  the  space  beneath 
the  platform  and  hid  the  real  residents  from  view. 
As  they,  too,  were  young  fishes,  it  is  not  strange 
that  they  should  indulge  in  games,  and,  like  the 
others,  they  had  their  games  of  "  tag  "  and  "  chase," 
often  hundreds  joining  in  the  sport. 

But  the  pastime  most  affected  by  these  silvery 
creatures  was  that  of  jumping  ;  this  seemed  to  be 
entered  into  with  the  greatest  enjoyment  and  spirit. 
The  leaping  was  of  course  not  done  under  water, 
but  as  follows :  -as  the  tide  rose  the  sticks  and 


264      THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

twigs  that  had'been  stranded  were  floated  off,  and 
soon  drifted  out  to  the  school.  As  soon  as  a  stick 
was  observed  by  the  argus-eyed  throng,  a  score  or 
more  would  dart  at  it,  and  with  a  frisk  of  their 
tails,  a  splash  and  clatter,  over  they  would  go,  out 
of  the  water,  clearing  the  float  with  all  ease  im- 
aginable. Others  would  follow,  and  I  noticed  that 
those  who  once  performed  the  feat  returned  again 
and  again ;  showing  that  it  was  a  matter  of  de- 
cided enjoyment.  Sometimes  when  a  supply  of 
sticks  was  on  hand  a  dozen  of  these  games  would 
be  going  on  at  one  time. 

I  frequently  observed  the  fishes  taking  curious 
positions  in  the  water  without  apparent  purpose. 
Some  would  poise  with  head  down,  allowing  them- 
selves to  gradually  float  upward  until  the  tail 
touched  the  surface,  then  dart  off  with  great  ve- 
locity, just  as  if  they  had  been  "  playing  'possum." 
Others  would  swim  round  and  round  in  a  circle,  or 
take  a  number  of  short  leaps  out  of  the  water, 
making  a  hop-skip-and-jump  movement.  Personal 
contests,  seemingly  in  play,  were  often  carried  on. 
One  fish  would  seize  another  by  the  side  fin,  and 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.        265 

the  two  would  swim  about  and  struggle  for  some 
time,  until,  perhaps,  another  fish  would  interfere. 

Such  performances  as  leaping  out  of  water  are 
not  confined  to  small  fishes.  I  have  seen  large 
rays  do  this,  coming  down  with  a  crash  that  could 
be  heard  for  a  mile.  The  breeching,  as  it  is  called, 
of  the  whale,  though  not  a  fish,  probably  comes 
under  the  head  of  playfulness,  and  their  mighty 
gambols  are  common  sights  to  whalers. 

While  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  train  fishes,  I 
have  made  them  participate  in  what  might  be 
termed  a  game,  and  the  sport  can  be  carried  out 
indefinitely.  The  fishes  which  I  experimented 
with  were  a  common  Northern  sunfish  and  a  tri- 
tailed  Japanese  fish.  I  bought  the  former  because 
it  had  a  reputation  for  pugnacity ;  its  owner  aver- 
ring that  it  killed  all  fishes  placed  in  the  tank  with 
it.  I  thought  this  a  mistake ;  but  after  losing  sev- 
eral triple-tailed  Japanese  fishes  I  found  that  my 
sunfish  was  a  veritable  bully  and  was  determined 
to  have  a  tank  by  itself ;  so  I  accordingly  divided 
off  the  aquarium  by  a  glass  partition,  and  put  the 
tyrant  in  close  confinement.  Being  a  courageous 


OF  THK 

TJNIVER3I] 

-. 
CAI 


266        THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

fish  it  did  not  require  much  instruction  or  training, 
and  soon  not  only  fed  from  my  hand,  but  would 
leap  some  distance  out  of  the  water  for  flies  and 
other  articles  of  food,  and  finally  came  to  expect 
its  supply,  darting  to  the  surface  the  moment  I 
approached  the  tank.  This  familiarity  was  the 
occasion  one  day  of  a  laughable  accident  to  a  pet 
kitten.  Feeling  thirsty  she  sprang  upon  the  top 
of  the  aquarium,  and  balancing  herself  upon  the 
edge  began  to  drink.  But  the  moment  her  red 
tongue  touched  the  water  the  sunfish  saw  it,  and 
darted  to  the  surface,  and  the  next  second  had  the 
tongue  firmly  in  its  mouth.  It  is  difficult  to  tell 
which  was  the  most  surprised.  The  kitten  gave  a 
howl,  lost  her  balance  and  fell  into  the  tank,  from 
which  after  floundering  about  a  moment  she 
escaped,  and  with  a  wail  of  terror  darted  from 
the  room,  leaving  the  fish,  that  had  found  out  its 
mistake,  rushing  about  with  fins  erect  equally 
demoralized. 

This,  however,  did  not  deter  the  sunfish  from 
darting  at  everything ;  and  this  readiness  to  bite 
all  objects  suggested  that  fish-power  might  be  ex- 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.       267 

perimented  with  ;  so  a  mimic  belfry  was  arranged 
over  the  aquarium  and  the  bell-rope  allowed  to 
hang  over  the  water.  This  can  be  done  by  any 
one,  and  if  to  the  string  a  bit  of  meat  be  attached, 
the  fish  will  seize  it,  and  in  its  attempts  to  detach 
it  will  ring  the  bell.  By  finally  replacing  the  meat 
with  a  colored  pebble  the  fish  can  be  taught  to 
ring  for  its  own  dinner,  and  if  it  be  one  of  the 
curious  tri-lobed  gold-fish  found  in  almost  any  col- 
lection, the  performance  is  a  very  attractive  one. 

These  entertainments  can  be  extended  indefi- 
nitely. Small  cannon  can  be  fired  by  having  the 
fish  pull  the  lanyard,  windmills  can  be  worked, 
music-boxes  wound  up,  mimic  engines  started  ;  in 
fact  many  devices  invented  for  the  edification 
of  young  people.  A  miniature  mermaid  can  be 
floated  upon  the  water,  or  a  marine  jumping-jack, 
and  the  fish  will  pull  the  string  that  is  dangling 
below,  giving  the  figures  an  extremely  life-like 
appearance. 

That  insects  have  their  games  and  sports  I  am 
convinced.  This  first  occurred  to  me  while  in  the 
Adirondacks  some  years  ago.  I  was  some  dis- 


268       THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

tance  in  the  wilderness,  and  having  found  a  small 
clearing  was  resting  from  my  climb,  when  suddenly 
the  sun,  that  had  been  obscured,  sent  a  band  of 
light  through  an  opening  in  the  trees  and  at  once 
transformed  the  spot  into  a  veritable  fairyland. 
From  all  about  innumerable  forms  of  insect  life 
seemed  to  spring  into  the  gladsome  light,  and  soon 
the  great  sunbeam  was  the  scene  of  such  revelry 
as  is  only  imagined  by  tellers  of  fairy-stories.  A 
band  of  gnats,  or  insects  resembling  them,  seemed 
to  be  performing  some  mystic  dance.  They  floated 
on  the  beams  of  light ;  rising  and  falling  in  undu- 
lating lines,  forming  and  re-forming,  now  disappear- 
ing, as  if  at  some  preconcerted  signal,  only  to 
appear  again  in  some  new  shape.  So  regular  and 
exact  were  these  movements  that  I  was  impressed 
that  they  had  some  meaning.  In  and  about  this 
band  of  players  various  other  forms  were  darting. 
Such  games  of  tag !  such  aerial  leaps,  dives  and 
plunges  !  all  showing  that  this  sunbath  was  being 
enjoyed  to  the  utmost  extent. 

Once  while    lying  on   the    rocks  that  face  the 
ocean  not  far  from  Nahant,  I  was  attracted  by  a 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.       269 

curious  clicking  sound,  first  on  one  side,  then  on 
the  other ;  as  if  a  system  of  signaling  was  going 
on.  Recognizing  the  note  of  one  of  the  locust 
tribe,  I  carefully  turned  and  saw  half  a  dozen 
large  rusty-brown  fellows,  commonly  known  as 
grasshoppers,  which  so  exactly  imitated  the  rocks 
in  color  that  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  I 
distinguished  them  when  not  in  motion.  It  was 
apparent  that  they  were  engaged  in  some  curious 
performance,  as  they  were  marching  about  in  the 
most  erratic  manner,  dodging  and  hiding  behind 
pieces  of  stone,  and  exhibiting  remarkable  acute- 
ness  in  avoiding  each  other.  All  the  little  irregu- 
larities of  the  rocks  were  carefully  taken  advantage 
of,  and  their  motions  in  creeping  upon  one  another 
reminded  me  of  those  of  a-cat,  so  stealthy  and  sly 
were  they.  This  game  of  hide-and-seek  was  occa- 
sionally varied  by  a  leaping  performance.  Two 
locusts  would  gravely  face  each  other,  and  then  as 
if  at  a  given  signal  they  would  jump  into  the  air, 
one  passing  over  the  other  in  the  flight,  alighting 
and  assuming  the  same  positions  only  reversed.  I 
watched  their  manoeuvres  for  some  time,  and  lis- 


270        THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

tened  to  the  curious  clicking  that  accompanied 
them  ;  but  finally  an  incautious  movement  broke 
up  the  games,  and  the  players  flew  away,  seemingly 
uttering  vigorous  protests. 

The  love  of  sport  is  not  confined  to  these  lowly 
creatures.  I  doubt  if  an  animal  can  be  found 
which  does  not  in  some  way  or  at  some  time  show 
a  desire  for  what  we  term  "  amusement."  Among 
the  land  animals,  or  rather  the  land  and  water 
animals,  the  otters  are  especially  noticeable  from 
the  fact  that  some  of  their  games  are  exactly  like 
those  ctf  human  device.  It  was  Audabon  who  first 
chronicled  their  actions,  he  having  watched  them 
from  a  secluded  spot,  and  since  then  their  games 
have  been  enjoyed  by  many  observers.  The  otters 
(Lutra  Canadensis)  are  perhaps  the  originators  of 
the  games  of  sliding  down  hill  and  tobogganing. 

Otters  are  always  found  about  streams ;  building 
their  tunnel-nests  in  the  banks,  having,  as  a  rule, 
one  entrance  into  the  water,  and  another  on  shore. 
During  the  winter  a  bank  is  selected  having  a  good 
incline  and  leading  into  the  water  or  sometimes 
out  upon  the  ice.  The  snow  is  then  carefully 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.        273 

patted  down  and  rendered  as  smooth  as  possible, 
and  finally  becomes  a  glare  of  ice.  This  accom- 
plished, the  others  start  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  and 
turning  upon  their  backs  give  themselves  a  push 
with  their  hind  feet,  and  away  go  the  living  sleds, 
dashing  down  the  incline,  turning  at  the  bottom 
and  with  a  splash  entering  the  cold  water,  or  dart- 
ing away  on  the  smooth  ice.  So  fond  are  the  ani- 
mals of  this  sport,  they  keep  it  up  for  a  long  time, 
and  hunters  watch  the  slides,  knowing  that  here 
they  have  the  best  chance  of  finding  the  otters. 

The  sea-otters  are  just 'as  playful.  They  are 
found  lying  on  the  great  kelp-beds  off  shore,  and 
have  been  seen  tossing  their  young  into  the  air, 
riding  on  the  breakers  upon  their  backs,  and  going 
through  a  number  of  motions  of  an  extremely  in- 
teresting nature.  That  these  occurrences  are  truly 
games,  one  needs  but  to  watch  the  domestic  cat 
and  her  kittens  ;  and  young  lions,  tigers,  and  all 
the  cat  tribe  have  similar  dispositions,  while  if  we 
turn  to  the  monkey  its  entire  existence  is  seen  to 
be  a  continuous  game,  or  an  endless  series  of  prac- 
tical jokes  perpetrated  upon  its  fellows. 


274      THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

The  Malayan  sun  bear  is  remarkable  for  its  fun- 
loving  nature.  A  ball  of  wood  will  serve  to  enter- 
tain one  of  these  little  creatures,  and  enable  it  to 
perform  the  most  grotesque%  and  curious  antics. 
The  common  black  bear  is  almost  equally  playful ; 
and  its  rough-and-tumble  games  in  a  treetop  are 
some  of  the  most  interesting  performances  I  have 
over  witnessed. 

Even  crabs  appear  to  have  a  sense  of  humor, 
and  to  go  through  certain  manoeuvres  presumably 
games.  I  remember  once  in  Florida  in  crossing  a 
long  marsh  to  have  come  suddenly  to  a  spot  not 
covered  with  grass,  where  an  immense  number  of 
crabs,  known  as  fiddlers  (from  the  fact  that  one 
claw  is  of  enormous  size,  comparatively),  were 
marching  about  in  what  appeared  to  be  regular 
order.  There  must  have  been  several  hundred, 
and  with  the  great  claws  held  aloft  they  were 
wheeling,  backing,  marching  and  counter-march- 
ing ;  making  no  attack  upon  each  other,  but  mov- 
ing about  in  a  solemn  array  that  undoubtedly  gave 
some  satisfaction  to  the  participants. 

Among  birds  we  find  many  instances  of  this  love 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.       275 

of  sport.  Quite  recently  a  European  naturalist 
made  an  extensive  trip  through  Peru,  paying  spe- 
cial attention  to  birds,  and  one  day  while  sitting 
beneath  a  low  tree  he  saw  several  humming-birds 
(Loddigesia  mirabilis]  approach  a  limb  and  alight 
just  above  his  head.  While  watching  them  he  ob- 
served them  leave  the  perch,  at  the  same  time  two 
of  their  tail  feathers  spreading  out  so  that  one  ex- 
tended upon  one  side,  and  one  upon  the  other,  and 
although  in  mid-air  the  birds  still  appeared  as  if  they 
were  on  a  perch,  or  were  holding  in  their  claws  a 
feather.  Instead  of  flying  away  they  took  positions 
in  the  air,  one  above  and  one  below  the  branch, 
and  there  remained  several  minutes,  rising  and 
falling,  and  occasionally  changing  places  when  they 
would  return  to  the  branch  to  rest,  then  continuing 
the  curious  performance  which  the  naturalist  was 
convinced  was  some  game.  As  the  tiny  creatures 
poised  they  resembled  gems  of  dazzling  appear- 
ance. The  crests  were  a  vivid  sapphire  blue, 
changing  in  different  lights  to  various  shades  of 
violet ;  the  breast  feathers  were  a  golden  green, 
while  about  the  feet  were  ruffles  of  pure  white. 


276       THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

As  a  rule  the  cranes  and  herons  are  the  most 
dignified  of  all  the  bird-creation,  especially  when 
observed  in  the  haunts  of  their  choice  -  -  generally 
the  desolate  marsh  where  the  approach  of  an 
enemy  can  be  readily  seen.  Here  they  stand 
motionless,  resting  on  one  leg,  either  asleep  or  en- 
gaged in  deluding  some  unfortunate  fish  into  the 
belief  that  they  are,  or  with  their  fiery  eyes  fixed 
upon  the  water  below.  The  heron  or  crane  is 
not  always  the  solemn  creature  it  thus  represents 
itself  to  be.  When  numbers  of  them  gather  to- 
gether upon  some  sandy  point,  especially  on  moon- 
light nights,  a  perfect  transformation  occurs.  They 
leap  in  the  air,  hop  over  one  another's  backs,  con- 
torting their  long  necks,  pecking  at  imaginary 
enemies  in  mid-air,  then  alight  and  stalk  up  and 
clown  with  mincing  tread.  Sometimes  a  number 
of  birds  will  remain  motionless  while  one  will  per- 
form, and  then,  as  if  eager  to  join  the  dance,  the 
entire  party  will  leap  forward,  and  a  scene  ensue 
laughable  in  the  extreme. 

The  cranes  of  other  countries  indulge  in  games 
even  more  grotesque  than  those  described.  The 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.        277 

dances  of  the  demoiselle  or  Numidian  crane  (An- 
tropoides  virgo}  are  thus  described  by  the  Russian 
naturalist,  Prof.  Von  Nordmann  : 

"  They  arrive  in  the  south  of  Russia  about  the  beginning  of 
March,  in  flocks  of  between  two  and  three  hundred  individ- 
uals. Arrived  at  the  end  of  their  journey,  the  flocks  keep 
together  for  some  time,  and  even  when  they  have  dispersed 
in  couples,  they  re-assemble  every  morning  and  evening,  pre- 
ferring in  warm  weather  to  exercise  themselves  together,  and 
amuse  themselves  by  dancing.  For  this  purpose  they  choose 
a  convenient  place,  generally  the  flat  shore  of  a  stream. 
There  they  place  themselves  in  a  line,  or  in  many  rows,  and 
begin  their  games  and  extraordinary  dances,  which  are  not 
a  little  surprising  to  the  spectator,  and  of  which  the  account 
would  be  considered  fabulous  were  it  not  attested  by  men 
worthy  of  belief.  They  dance  and  jump  around  each  other, 
bowing  in  a  burlesque  manner,  advancing  their  necks,  rais- 
ing the  feathers  of  the  neck-tufts,  and  half  unfolding  the 
wings.  In  the  meantime  another  set  are  disputing,  in  a  race, 
the  prize  for  swiftness.  Arrived  at  the  winning-post  they 
turn  back,  and  walk  slowly  and  with  gravity ;  all  the  rest  of 
the  company  saluting  them  with  reiterated  cries,  inclinations 
of  the  head,  and  other  demonstrations  which  are  recipro- 
cated. After  having  done  this  for  some  time,  they  all  rise 
in  the  air,  where,  slowly  sailing,  they  describe  circles,  like 
the  swan  and  other  cranes." 

It  would    be   difficult  to  find  a  more    demure 
bird  than  the  cock-of-the-rock  (Rupicold)  of  South 


278       THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

America.  It  is  a  little  smaller  than  a  good-sized 
pigeon  ;  the  males  are  of  a  rich  bright  orange,  with 
plume-like  headdresses,  and  so  beautiful  withal 
that  a  former  emperor  of  Brazil  had  a  state  robe 
made  from  the  skins.  The  female  bird  has  a  dark- 
brown  suit,  and  is  not  so  attractive.  The  birds  are 
timid,  and  it  is  difficult  to  approach  them  ;  their 
nests  being  formed  up  near  the  rocky  beds  of 
streams  in  inaccessible  places.  A  naturalist  suc- 
ceeded in  stealing  upon  a  flock,  however,  and  ob- 
served what  might  be  termed  a  "  bird-circus."  The 
group  consisted  of  eight  or  ten  birds,  standing  upon 
a  large  rock  in  a  ring  several  feet  in  diameter.  All 
the  birds  faced  the  center,  and  were  evidently 
watching  the  performance  with  the  greatest  in- 
terest. The  entertainer  of  this  feathered  audience 
was  a  single  bird  which  stood  in  the  center.  Ex- 
tremely sedate  in  all  its  actions,  it  moved  about, 
lifting  its  claws  as  high  as  possible,  bowing  its 
head,  and  spreading  its  tail,  thus  displaying  the 
black  markings,  marching  around  in  a  circle,  leap- 
ing solemnly  in  the  air,  and  going  through  a  variety 
of  ludicrous  manoeuvres.  After  the  bird  seemed 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.       279 

to  have  exhausted  its  powers  as  a  contortionist,  it 
retired  and  took  its  place  among  the  spectators, 
another  bird  or  actor  stepping  into  the  ring,  and 
evidently  striving  to  exceed  the  other  in  the  eccen- 
tricity of  its  motions.  Now  some  imaginary  enemy 
was  attacked,  and  violent  pecks  and  wing-strikes 
made  at  the  empty  air,  the  performer  wheeling 
about,  darting  quickly  this  way  and  that  as  if  avoid- 
ing the  adversary's  blows  until,  exhausted,  it  fell 
back  into  the  line  giving  way  to  a  fresh  performer. 
The  games  of  many  birds  are  aerial,  and  pre- 
sent grand  spectacles,  wonderful  exhibitions  of 
flight.  Such,  for  instance,  are  the  evolutions  of 
the  great  English  bustard,  whose  rushes  and  move- 
ments in  mid-air  are  extremely  remarkable  for  so 
heavy  a  bird.  Rising  upward,  as  if  intending  to 
leave  a  certain  locality,  it  suddenly  swoops  down 
with  the  velocity  of  a  hawk  darting  upon  its  prey. 
Down  it  comes,  the  wind  whistling  about  its  wings. 
A  second  more,  and  it  will  strike  the  ground,  but 
suddenly  its  wings  are  spread  and  its  headway  is 
stopped.  Then  begin  a  series  of  contortions  and 
movement,  that  defy  description.  The  great  bird 


280       THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

seems  poised  by  some  other  agency  than  its  wings, 
so  strangely  are  they  employed.  Finally  when 
thoroughly  exhausted,  it  alights  and  joins  its  com- 
rades who  have  been  interested  observers  of  the 
performance. 

In  all  these  instances  there  has  been  no  special 
place  selected  as  a  playground,  any  locality  suiting 
the  purpose ;  but  by  a  number  of  birds  found  in 
Australia  playgrounds  are  built  with  as  much  care 
as  those  intended  for  human  use.  One  of  the  most 
interesting  of  these  playhouse-makers  is  known  as 
the  Ptilonorhynchus  holosericens,  and  its  actions  have 
been  carefully  observed  by  Mr.  Coxen,  of  Brisbane, 
New  South  Wales,  and  a  specimen  of  their  play- 
houses placed  by  him  in  the  Natural  History 
Museum  at  Sydney.  In  the  erection  of  its  house 
the  bird  displays  great  care.  A  level  spot  is  se- 
lected, well-concealed,  and  in  a  locality  free  from 
interruption.  Then  a  number  of  twigs  are  taken 
and  placed  upon  the  ground  in  parallel  rows,  and 
then  carefully  interwoven  ;  this  forms  the  flooring. 
Other  twigs  are  now  collected,  of  a  little  finer  qual- 
ity, and  these  are  inserted  in  the  sides  of  the  plat- 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.        281 

form,  the  tops  being  pushed  together  so  that  they 
join  and  form  the  apex  of  a  roof.  These  thatches 
are  skillfully  woven  in  and  out,  until  the  roof  is 
secure  and  in  some  cases  water-tight.  The  arbor 
or  hall  so  formed  is  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
feet  in  length.  The  bird  then  proceeds  to  furnish 
the  house  with  toys.  These  are  bright  objects  of 
all  kinds  :  gaudy  shells  of  snails,  bright  feathers, 
bits  of  colored  glass  found  near  camps,  brilliant 
insects  ;  in  short,  anything  of  an  attractive  nature. 
These  playthings  or  ornaments  are  distributed 
about  the  floor,  some  hung  upon  the  branches,  and 
when  all  is  arranged  the  collector  invites  its  mate 
into  the  arbor  or  hall,  and  the  birds  amuse  them- 
selves by  picking  up  the  toys  and  changing  them 
about,  and  by  running  in  and  out.  This  playroom 
is  in  a  different  locality  from  the  nest,  and  should 
not  be  confused  with  it. 

Some  years  ago  several  specimens  of  the  satin 

bower-bird  were  brought  from  Australia  and  ex- 

1  hibited  in  the  London  Zoological  Garden  where 

they  afforded  much  entertainment  and  amusement 

by  their  strange  actions.     Dr.  Sclater  says : 


282       THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

"  Long  before  the  construction  of  their  nest,  and  independ- 
ently of  it,  these  birds  form  with  twigs,  skillfully  put  together 
and  firmly  planted  in  a  platform  of  various  materials,  an 
arbor-like  gallery  of  uncertain  length  in  which  they  amuse 
themselves  with  the  most  active  glee.  They  pursue  each 
other  through  it;  they  make  attitudes  to  each  other,  the 
males  setting  their  feathers  in  the  most  grotesque  manner, 
and  making  as  many  bows  as  a  cavalier  in  a  minuet.  The 
architecture  of  the  bower  is  exceedingly  tasteful,  and  the 
ornamentation  of  the  platform  on  which  it  stands  is  an  object 
of  constant  solicitude  to  the  birds.  Scarcely  a  day  passes 
without  some  fresh  arrangement  of  the  shells,  feathers,  bones, 
and  other  decorative  materials,  which  they  bring  from  long 
distances  in  the  bush  for  this  purpose.  With  the  same  ob- 
ject they  immediately  appropriate  every  suitable  fragment 
placed  within  their  reach  when  in  confinement." 

In  one  of  these  playhouses,  in  the  Museum  of 
Comparative  Zoology  at  Cambridge,  England,  of 
these  Chlamydodera  nuchalis,  the  decorations  or 
toys  alone  amount  to  half  a  peck  of  material,  com- 
posed mostly  of  a  large  white  univalve,  the  shell 
of  a  land  snail,  in  all  about  four  hundred  of  them ; 
the  rest  being  shiny  flints,  agates,  highly-colored 
seeds  and  pods,  bleached  bones,  etc. 

The  bower  or  playhouse  of  C,  maculata  is  often 
four  feet  in  length  and  two  in  width.  In  this  case 


THE    SPORTS   AND   GAMES   OF    ANIMALS.       283 

no  floor  is  made,  the  twigs  being  merely  thrust  into 
the  ground  in  a  regular  row  opposite  each  other, 
and  allowed  to  fall  together  at  the  top. 

The  Quiscalus  or  Sanata,  a  bird  resembling  the 
magpie,  found  in  Central  America,  has  if  not  a 
sense  of  humor  something  very  much  akin  to  it. 
At  certain  times  a  number  will  meet  and  perform 
for  the  edification  of  others,  dances,  and  games  of 
a  very  entertaining  nature.  At  one  moment  they 
will  stand  twisting  their  necks  into  seemingly  im- 
possible positions,  ruffling  their  feathers,  then 
walking  slowly  ahead,  stopping  suddenly  and  tip- 
ping the  long  tail  up  so  that  it  almost  strikes  the 
head,  conveying  the  impression  to  the  observer  that 
the  performer  had  suddenly  realized  that  its  move- 
ments were  not  exactly  dignified.  These  bird 
antics  are  often  seen  on  the  tops  of  houses. 

The  ants,  which  many  authorities,  notably  Sir 
John  Lubbock,  rank  next  to  man  in  point  of  intel- 
ligence, though  extremely  busy  and  hard-working 
little  creatures,  have  their  times  of  relaxation,  and 
have  been  seen  by  close  observers  engaged  in  per- 
formances which  were  undoubtedly  games.  Hu- 


284        THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS. 

her  says  of  scenes  on  the  surface  of  ant-hills :  "  I 
dare  not  qualify  them  with  the  title  gymnastic, 
although  they  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  scenes 
of  the  kind."  The  ants  observed  by  this  natural- 
ist raised  themselves  on  their  hind  legs,  caressed 
each  other  with  their  antennae,  and  appeared  to 
be  engaged  in  a  mock  battle,  and  anon  "hide-and- 
seek";  every  movement,  however,  being  conducted 
without  any  evidence  of  rage  which  passion,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  is  easily  recognized  in  the  ant. 

Huber's  suggestion  that  these  actions  were  true 
games  has  been  confirmed  by  Forel,  a  careful  ob- 
server, who  witnessed  such  remarkable  games  that 
he  says  it  would  seem  almost  imaginary  if  he  had 
not  seen  them  himself.  Bates  observed  behavior 
in  the  ant  Eciton  legionis  which  he  says  looked  to 
him  like  "  simple  indulgence  in  idle  amusement," 
and  the  conclusion,  he  adds,  "  that  the  ants  were 
engaged  merely  in  play  was  irresistible." 

Any  one  who  has  observed  ants  carefully  in  this 
country  must  have  seen  something  of  the  kind,  and 
that  they  are  fine  gymnasts  there  is  no  doubt,  as 
such  feats  as  swinging  from  a  twig  by  their  last 


THE    SPORTS    AND    GAMES    OF    ANIMALS.        285 

pair  of  legs,  and  standing  on  their  hind  legs,  are 
often  noticed. 

So  through  all  animal  life  we  shall  find  that  the 
various  members  have  hours  of  relaxation,  in  which 
games  and  sports  are  the  natural  outcome. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


GIANTS. 

ONG  ago  and  in 

fact  in  almost 
every  period  of 
human  history 
we  find  refer- 
ences to  giants, 
supposed  hu- 
man beings  of 
enormous  size ; 
and  so  complete  and  serious  are  the  discussions 
and  measurements  in  many  of  the  old  histories  and 
scientific  works  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to 
the  good  faith  of  the  writers.  In  the  tenth, 
eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries  some  of  the  most 
important  controversies  among  the  wise  men  were 
in  relation  to  these  "  finds  "  or  discoveries,  which, 

286 


GIANTS.  287 

it  is  needless  to  say,  were  not  what  they  were  sup- 
posed to  be  —  though  certainly  giants. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  the 
scientific  world  of  Europe  was  thrown  into  great 
excitement  by  the  report  that  the  body  of  Pallas, 
the  son  of  Evander,  had  been  discovered  under  the 
tomb  of  the  Emperor  Henry  m.  The  bones  were 
of  immense  size,  and  the  finders  conjectured  that 
if  placed  together  the  figure  would  stand  as  high 
as  the  walls  of  Rome.  This  story  was  received  by 
the  incredulous ;  but  later  the  remains  were  shown 
to  be  those  of  a  fossil  elephant  —  a  giant  indeed, 
but  not  a  human  one, 

In  the  fifteenth  century  numbers  of  fossil  ele- 
phants were  discovered,  which,  with  hardly  an  ex- 
ception, were  considered  giants  ;  and  one  excavated 
in  Dauphine,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  xin.,  caused 
more  controversy  than  any  subject,  political  or 
scientific,  of  the  time.  All  classes  of  scientific 
men  were  arrayed  against  each  other ;  the  two 
parties  being  divided  as  to  whether  the  bones  were 
those  of  an  elephant  or  the  giant  Teutobochus. 

Later  in  1577,  the  inhabitants  of  Lucerne,  Swit- 


288  GIANTS. 

zerland,  announced  to  the  world  that  a  giant  had 
been  discovered  in  their  precincts.  The  announce- 
ment was  made  by  a  distinguished  man  of  science, 
Professor  Felix  Plater  of  Basle,  who  examined 
the  remains  by  order  of  the  council,  and  reported 
as  above ;  and  forthwith  the  eminent  professor  was 
requested  to  make  a  design  of  the  giant  restored, 
which  he  did,  giving  the  figure  of  a  man  about 
twenty  feet  in  height,  and  this  the  proud  populace 
adopted  to  support  the  arms  of  their  city.  The 
design  and  some  of  the  bones  can  still  be  seen  in 
the  college  of  Jesuits  at  Lucerne.  But  when  Blu- 
menbach  examined  the  bones  he  immediately  pro- 
nounced  them  those  of  an  elephant,  much  to  the 
mortification  of  some,  while  others  held  out  for 
the  giant. 

Even  in  America  when  the  first  mastodon  and 
fossil  elephant  bones  were  unearthed  they  were 
thought  to  be  those  of  giants  ;  but  a  race  of  human 
giants  never  existed,  the  so-called  ones  being  only 
exceptionally  tall  men  of  seven  feet  and  some 
inches. 

The  ancient  days  of  the  world's  history  were 


GIANTS.  289 

preeminently  the  days  of  giants ;  life  in  what  is 
known  as  the  cretaceous,  or  chalk  age,  attaining 
a  remarkable  development.  Some  of  the  animals 
were  so  large  that  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  they 
moved  about  with  agility  sufficient  to  preserve  them 
from  foes,  and  if  man  existed  at  this  time,  he 
was  confronted  with  many  creatures  compared  to 
which  the  largest  land  animals  of  to-day  are  mere 
pigmies. 

Several  years  ago  some  laborers  were  engaged 
at  a  work  which  required  excavations,  in  the 
Sewalik  Hills  of  India,  when  they  came  upon  the  re- 
mains of  an  animal  of  remarkable  size  and  struct- 
ure. By  carefully  removing  the  soil  they  exposed 
what  might  have  been  used  as  a  hut  for  a  dozen 
or  twenty  men,  and  which  proved  to  be  the  shell  of 
an  enormous  extinct  land-turtle.  It  was  taken  out 
with  great  care,  and  after  a  while  carried  to  Eng- 
land, where  a  perfect  restoration  may  now  be  seen 
in  the  British  Museum.  Its  dimensions  were  as 
follows  :  length  ten  feet,  horizontal  circumference 
twenty-five  feet,  and  girth  in  a  vertical  direction 
fifteen  feet. 


290  GIANTS. 

But  this  was  a  young  turtle,  a  baby,  so  to  speak, 
gigantic  as  it  was,  and  one  third  less  than  a  larger 
specimen,  which  we  may  picture  as  a  monster 
crawling  slowly  over  the  ground  ;  its  enormous 
dome-like  back,  when  raised  on  the  stupendous 
legs,  eight  or  nine  feet  from  the  surface,  its  foot- 
prints in  the  soil  as  large  as  those  of  a  rhinocer- 
ous ;  some  authorities  give  its  total  length,  when 
restored,  as  twenty  feet. 

Such  a  huge  slow  creature  must  have  been 
comparatively  helpless,  and  have  fallen  as  sure 
prey  to  the  primeval  hunter  who,  though  armed 
with  only  stone  axes  and  rude  weapons,  could  de- 
stroy it  and  use  the  shell  as  a  house  for  his  family. 
The  scene  of  such  a  capture  may  well  have  been 
an  exciting  one  ;  even  though  the  monster  was 
comparatively  harmless  its  great  strength  must 
have  enabled  it  to  make  considerable  resistance 
in  attempting  to  escape.  Fancy  a  score  of  men 
mounted  upon  its  dome-like  shell ;  and  vines,  or 
ropes  perhaps,  used  to  retard  the  creature's  move- 
ments, and  thus  harassed,  belabored  by  the  heavy 
stone  hammers  about  the  head,  pounded  by  the 


UNIVERSITY 


GIANTS. 


293 


agile  men  upon  its  back,  the  great  beast  pushing 
sturdily  on,  crushing  small  trees  and  bushes  in  its 
way,  sweeping  off  its  enemies,  while  others  follow 
with  loud  shouts,  until  finally  completely  entangled, 
it  draws  in  its  powerful  legs  and  falls  to  the  ground, 
awaiting  its  fate  after  the  manner"  of  the  giant 
Galapagos  turtle  of  to-day.  With  the  rude  appli- 
ances of  such  an  early  time  the  Colossochelys  Atlas, 
as  it  is  called,  even  now  would  seem  comparatively 
safe  with  its  feet  and  head  drawn  partly  into  its 
shell ;  but  the  lowest  native  tribes  of  to-day  almost 
invariably  devise  some  method  for  slaying  the 
larger  animals,  and  these  early  hunters,  if  there 
were  men  at  that  time,  would  probably  have  been 
no  exception. 

A  party  of  workmen,  some  years  since,  were 
blasting  in  a  quarry  at  Rock  Hill,  near  Maidstone, 
England.  The  material  was  limestone,  and  among 
the  pieces  that  came  off  after  a  blast,  the  over- 
seer noticed  a  section  which  resembled  petrified 
wood.  Having  an  unusual  appearance  it  was  taken 
to  a  scientific  man,  who  pronounced  it  a  part  of 
the  skeleton  of  some  gigantic  animal.  The  labor- 


294  GIANTS, 

ers  were  directed  to  remove  the  specimen  with 
great  care,  and  the  result  was  the  collection  of  the 

o  ' 

remains  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  creatures 
of  ancient  times,     It  was  the  Iguanodon,  a  giant 
representative  of  the  little  lizard  iguana  now  found 
in  the  South  American  country,  a  harmless  creature 
rarely  exceeding  two  or  three  feet  in  length.     Its 
extinct  relative  was  quite  another  affair.     In  bulk 
it  would  have  equalled  three  animals  as  large,  per- 
haps,  as  the  lamented  Jumbo.     It  stood  like  a 
kangaroo  upon  its  colossal  hind  legs,  and  rested 
upon  a  tail  of  massive  proportions.     When  stand- 
ing thus,  and  gnawing  from  the  trees  of  its  choice, 
its  head  must  have  been  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  from 
the  ground ;  and  the  total  length  nearly  thirty  feet. 
Imagine  such  an  animal  in  England  to-day !  for 
in  former  years  it  wandered  about  what  are  now  the 
streets  of  London,  grazing  upon  and  tearing  down 
the  large  trees  of  the  time,  and  grinding  them  with 
its  curious  teeth  which  had  serrated  edges  like  those 
of  a  shark.     Like  the  huge  turtles  this  giant  was 
a   slow  mover,  and  would  have  been   easy  prey 
for  mesozoic  hunters  with  javelins  and  arrows. 


GIANTS.  295 

Almost  equally  large  and  much  more  ferocious 
was  the  Megalosaurus,  which,  instead  of  being  a 
plant  eater  was  carnivorous,  and  preyed  upon  other 
animals,  and  must  have  been  a  fierce  and  formid- 
able foe. 

While  Europe  has  produced  some  remarkable 
giants,  America  leads  in  this  respect,  and  in  the 
early  days  was  peopled  by  races  so  astonishing, 
that  all  the  dragons  and  fanciful  monsters  which 
the  vivid  imaginations  of  the  writers  of  old  have 
pictured,  fail  to  compare  with  the  actual  reality. 
In  fact,  if  it  were  desired  to-day  to  produce  a  book 
of  wonders  and  marvels,  describing  the  dragons 
and  other  terrifying  creatures,  it  would  be  only 
necessary  for  the  historian  to  refer  to  the  geologi- 
cal discoveries  of  the  last  thirty  years,  and  repre- 
sent the  animals  just  as  they  were.  What  was  the 
dragon  of  St.  George  to  certain  huge  bat-forms,  or 
the  unicorn  to  the  Loxolophodon  with  its  many 
horns?  The  roc  of  the  Arabian  Nights  was  not 
more  wonderful  than  some  of  the  fossil  birds,  and 
even  the  great  Poulpes  of  the  grave  Bishop  Pon- 
toppidan,  seem  almost  equalled  by  the  giant 


296  GIANTS. 

squids  of  to-day,  some  of  which  are  fifty  or  sixty 
feet  in  length.  In  short,  the  imagination  of  man 
cannot  picture  wonders  to  compare  with  the  actual 
creatures  which  have  peopled  the  globe  in  former 
ages. 

In  the  geological  hall  of  the  Museum  of  Natural 
History,  Central  Park,  there  is  upon  one  of  the 
shelves  an  object  about  five  feet  and  a  half  in 
length,  extremely  bulky,  and  weighing  so  many 
pounds  that  two  men  find  it  all  they  desire  to 
carry.  It  is  of  a  brown  hue,  and  might  be  taken 
for  the  trunk  of  a  fossil  tree  or  part  of  a  huge 
branch.  At  its  side  lies  a  small  white  bone  four  or 
five  inches  long,  with  a  label  to  the  effect  that  it 
is  the  corresponding  bone  of  a  living  crocodile. 
In  fact,  the  great  brown  mass,  as  bulky  as  a  large 
man  stretched  at  full  length,  is  the  thigh  or  hip 
bone  of  an  American  giant,  which  in  former  years 
roamed  the  great  cretaceous  sea  of  the  West.  The 
largest  crocodile  of  to-day  is  about  twenty  feet  in 
length,  and  its  thigh  bone  four  or  five  inches.  If 
the  thigh  bone  of  the  Atlantosaurus,  of  which  this 
is  a  part,  be  six  feet  long — and  Professor  Marsh 


GIANTS.  297 

has  discovered  one  eight  feet  in  length  —  how  long 
must  its  possessor  have  been  ?  This  is  an  exam- 
ple in  proportion,  which  will  admit  of  widely  dif- 
ferent answers  perhaps ;  but  while  my  readers  are 
guessing  I  will  say  that  geologists  believe  these 
giants  to  have  attained  a  length  of  from  eighty  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  While  they  have 
been  likened  to  crocodiles  they  differ  entirely  from 
them  in  appearance,  having  long  legs,  an  atten- 
uated tail  and  neck,  and  a  small  head ;  giants  of 
wonderful  structure,  living  in  the  shallow  waters 
of  the  great  seas  of  the  time,  floating  perhaps,  or 
anchored  by  their  prodigious  feet  and  tail. 

These  colossal  saurians  were  a  common  feature 
of  the  life  in  the  Jurassic  days,  when  a  vast  sea 
covered  Kansas  and  most  of  the  Western  States. 
The  Amphicoelias  fragillisimus,  described  by  Pro- 
fessor Cope,  was  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  in 
length,  and  the  Camarasaurus  supremus  attained  a 
length  of  seventy-five  feet.  Thus  there  were  in 
those  days  animals  longer  than  the  present  whales, 
which  crawled  about  upon  the  beaches  and  shores 
of  the  ancient  seas. 


298  GIANTS. 

If  man  existed  at  the  time  —  and  we  have  no 
evidence  that  he  did,  except  that  the  climatic  and 
other  conditions  would  have  permitted  it  —  he  found 
wondrous  game  indeed ;  and  to  have  followed  these 
mighty  creatures  in  rude  crafts  and'  attack  them 
with  crude  weapons,  would  have  been  a  daring 
feat.  An  animal  which  was  equally  at  home  on 
land  and  sea ;  which  could  sweep  a  large  area  with 
its  enormous  tail,  dive  into  the  greater  depths  with 
great  velocity,  and  while  its  body  was  far  below 
watch  its  prey,  extending  its  neck  upward,  was 
certainly  game  worthy  the  name. 

These  huge  monsters  were  undoubtedly  harm- 
less if  undisturbed,  their  only  method  of  defence 
being  the  tail,  which,  like  that  of  the  crocodile, 
could  probably  be  hurled  about  with  great  force. 
.  The  fact  that  many  of  these  giants  were  practi- 
cally defenceless  is  somewhat  remarkable,  and  this 
is  particularly  noticeable  in  one  of  the  Dinosaurian 
reptiles  of  the  mesozoic  era,  described  by  Profes- 
sor Marsh,  of  Yale.  Its  dimensions  were  colossal, 
and  its  weight  many  tons ;  yet  its  head  was  aston- 
ishingly small. 


GIANTS.  299 

The  Brontosaurus  cxcdsio,  as  it  is  called  by  its 
discoverer,  possessed  a  body  of  elephantine  pro- 
portions, to  which  was  attached  the  long  atten- 
uated tail  of  a  crocodile,  while  the  head  and  neck 
call  to  mind  that  of  a  serpent,  added  as  though  to 
produce  an  unnatural  contrast.  This  strange  giant 
was  a  water-loving  reptile  ;  probably  drifting  about 
like  the  hippopotamus,  perhaps  occasionally  lifting 
itself  on  its  hind  legs  which  were  much  larger  than 
the  others  ;  but  how  so  huge  a  creature  could  suf- 
ficiently supply  itself  with  food  having  such  a  small 
mouth,  is  somewhat  of  a  mystery. 

The  sea  in  which  some  of  these  huge  Dinosau- 
rians  lived  was  of  vast  extent.  The  rising  of  the 
crust  caused  it  to  become  shallow,  and  it  finally 
resulted  in  mud-fiats,  entombing  the  giants  whose 
bones  now  rest  under  fields  of  growing  grain,  or 
are  exposed  by  the  winds  that  weather  them  out  in 
the  Bad  Lands. 

The  mammals,  or  milk-giving  animals,  of  a  later 
time  were  no  less  remarkable.  In  the  Tertiary 
period  the  space  from  the  Missouri  River  to  East- 
ern Wyoming  and  Colorado  was  an  extensive  lake 


300  GIANTS. 

or  lakes,  and  the  sights  to  be  seen  must  have  been 
more  astonishing  than  any  to  be  observed  in  Africa 
at  the  present  day.  There  were  primitive  camels 
(Poebrotherium))  strange  hog-like  animals,  the  Ore- 
odon,  and  another  remarkable  form,  the  Elothe- 
rium.  But  strangest  of  all  were  those  colossal 
beasts  as  large  as  our  Indian  elephants,  but  with 
shorter  limbs  like  the  rhinoceros,  having  four 
toes  in  front  and  three  behind,  In  one,  the  Sym- 
borodon,  the  head  was  very  long,  and  armed  with 
two  long  sharp  stout  bony  protuberances. 

Preying  upon  these  animals  and  others  were 
American  hyenas,  with  dog-like  characteristics  and 
a  terrible  array  of  teeth ;  dogs,  cats,  tigers,  and 
panthers  of  more  or  less  ferocious  aspect ;  remains 
of  which  are  found  in  vast  numbers  on  the  borders 
and  in  the  bed  of  these  ancient  lakes,  known  now 

as  the  White  River  formation. 

About  this  time  in  the  region  of  the  Himalaya 

Mountains,  a  wonderful  giant  was  roaming  about ; 
a  creature  as  large  as  an  elephant,  covered  with 
thick  shaggy  hair,  which  upon  the  neck,  above  and 
beneath,  formed  a  heavy  mane.  Its  muzzle  was 


GIANTS. 

large  and  wide  ;  its  feet  hoofed,  while  from  the 
head  rose  two  pairs  of  horns  ;  the  front  ones  being 
straight  and  resembling  those  of  the  rhinoceros, 
though  side  by  side,  the  rear  pair  were  large, 
branching,  and  curved,  giving  the  animal  a  fero- 
cious appearance.  This  giant  must  have  been  for- 
midable, and  capable  of  defending  itself  from  the 
largest  beasts  of  prey.  It  was  related  to  the  ante- 
lopes and  giraffes,  and  known  to  science  to-day  as 
the  Sivatherium. 

When  the  famous  phosphate  beds  were  discov- 
ered in  South  Carolina  some  years  ago,  vast  num- 
bers of  bones  and  teeth  were  unearthed,  showing 
that  in  early  times  this  locality  had  been  peopled 
by  a  great  concourse  of  strange  forms.  Among 
the  most  abundant  curiosities,  as  the  workmen 
termed  them,  were  quantities  of  enormous  teeth 
triangular  in  shape,  and  serrated  on  the  cutting 
edge.  When  shown  to  a  naturalist  they  were  im- 
mediately recognized  as  shark-teeth,  and  it  became 
evident  that  at  one  time  the  locality  in  the  vicinity 
of  Charleston  was  the  bed  of  an  ocean,  and  that 
gigantic  sharks  flourished  there  in  great  numbers. 


302  GIANTS. 

Whenever  the  beds  of  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  Riv- 

% 

ers  are  dredged  to-day  numbers  of  these  teeth  are 
brought  up,  and  one  in  my  collection  is  nearly  if 
not  quite  as  large  as  my  hand.  As  the  bones  of 
the  shark  are  of  cartilage,  they  have  long  since 
been  destroyed,  and  only  these  beautifully  polished 
teeth  -  -  for  they  are  as  fresh  and  glistening  as 
when  first  discovered  —  are  left  to  tell  the  story. 
It  would  appear  to  be  an  impossible  task  to  restore 
this  giant  from  a  single  tooth.  But  it  is  not  so 
difficult  as  one  might  imagine.  From  the  shape 
of  the  tooth  of  the  great  Charcharodon  we  can  form 
some  idea  of  its  appearance  by  comparing  it  with 
existing  sharks,  and  from  its  size  we  can  determine 
how  large  it  was.  One  day  I  attempted  a  rough 
restoration  to  gain  some  idea  of  the  dimensions  of 
the  giant.  I  had  in  my  possession  the  jaw  of  a 
shark  which  I  had  caught  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
which  would  at  the  time  pass  readily  over  my  shoul- 
ders. The  shark  was  about  thirteen  feet  long,  and 
the  teeth  about  an  inch  and  two  eighths  wide,  and 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  length.  There  were  eight 
rows  of  these,  each  row  being  a  little  smaller  than 


GIANTS.  303 

the  last,  until  they  dwindled  down  to  mere  points. 
I  took  as  many  of  the  fossil  teeth  as  I  had,  and 
built  up  a  jaw  after  the  existing  model,  using  teeth 
where  I  had  them  and  leaving  space  where  I  did 
not.     Gradually   the    great    mouth   grew    on    the 
floor  until  I  found  myself  a  small  item  in  the  area, 
and  when  completed  I  found  that  the  largest  fossil 
shark  could  have  opened  its  mouth  and  allowed 
me  to  drive  in  a  top-buggy,  and  that  its   length 
could  not  have  been  less  in  proportion  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet.    The  larg- 
est existing  allied  shark  is  the  great  Carcharias 
Rondelletti,  found  in  Australian  waters,  just  one 
hundred  feet  less,  there  being  a  jaw  of  a  specimen 
in  the  British  Museum  from  one  that  measured 
thirty  feet  in  length. 

The  Rhinodon,  a  huge  creature  that  feeds  on 
small  pelagic  animals,  attains  to-day  a  length  of 
sixty  feet,  and  our  common  basking  shark,  I  have 
been  informed  by  reliable  persons,  attains  a  length- 
of  fifty  feet. 

Among  the  marine  giants  of  to-day,  the  Japan- 
ese crab,  Macrocheira,  deserve  mention  on  account 


304  GIANTS. 

of  being  the  most  remarkable  of  living  crustace- 
ans as  regards  size.  It  is  an  ally  of  what  in  Amer- 
ica we  commonly  call  spider  crabs ;  the  forms 
whose  diminutive  bodies  and  attenuated  limbs  so 
mimic  the  rocks  among  which  they  hide.  The 
Japanese  crabs  resemble  them  except  in  size ;  the 
body  appearing  like  a  rock,  so  rough  and  irregular  is 
its  surface,  and  undoubtedly  the  animal  is  protected 
by  this  mimicry.  In  the  Museum  of  Comparative 
Zoology  in  Cambridge,  there  is  a  fine  perfect  spec- 
imen though  small,  and  not  conveying  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  largest  specimens,  one  of  which  measured 
twenty-two  feet  from  the  tip  of  one  claw  to  that  of  the 
other.  They  are  comparatively  common  on  the 
shores  of  Japan,  and  Prof.  Ward,  who  has  collected 
them,  informed  me  that  they  have  a  curious  habit 
of  leaving  the  water  in  the  bays,  and  crawling  upon 
the  shores  at  night,  presumably  in  search  of  food. 

The  largest  fossil  crustacean  ever  found  did  not 
present  so  formidable  an  appearance  as  the  Japan- 
ese crab,  though  it  possessed  a  larger  body.  It 
was  a  Pterogotus,  a  creature  somewhat  resembling 
a  scorpion,  and  attained  a  length  of  nine  feet. 


GIANTS.  305 

While  I  have  not  intended  to  allude  to  the  large 
living  animals  which  might  be  called  giants,  I  can- 
not pass  by  a  very  interesting  one  which  was  first 
observed  by  Professor  and  Mrs.  Agassiz  off  Nahant. 
It  was  one  of  the  largest  invertebrate  animals 
ever  seen  —  a  gigantic  jelly-fish,  above  five  feet 
across  the  disk,  with  tentacles  trailing  after  it  one 
hundred  and  twelve  feet  in  length.  A  much  larger 
specimen  is  reported  by  Mr.  Telfair,  an  English 
naturalist,  as  having  been  seen  off  Bombay.  It 
was  estimated  that  the  tentacles  were  three  hun- 
dred feet  in  length,  and  that  the  animal  weighed 
several  tons  —  a  giant  indeed  when  compared  to 
the  delicate  forms  with  which  the  beaches  of  the 
New  England  coast  are  now  dotted. 

While  the  great  four-horned  antelope  previously 
described  was  wandering  on  the  plains  of  Asia,  a 
remarkable  elk  was  living  in  Ireland,  probably  as 
green  and  fair  a  grazing  ground  as  to-day.  It 
was  of  commanding  stature,  being  nearly  ten  feet 
in  height  from  the  top  of  its  antlers  to  the  ground. 
Nearly  all  the  specimens  found  are  taken  from 
the  bog,  and  discovered  accidentally  in  digging 


306  GIANTS. 

out  this  material  so  valuable  to  the  poor  people. 
A  fine  specimen  changed  to  a  dark  mahogany 
color  from  its  long  contact  with  the  soil,  may  be 
seen  in  the  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Central 
Park,  and  its  horns  are  so  large  and  spreading 
that  a  dozen  people  could  perch  upon  them,  and 
were  the  great  elk  alive  little  inconvenience  it  in 
point  of  weight. 

The  days  of  the  giants  seem  to  have  passed 
away,  the  whales,  the  great  basking  shark,  the  ele- 
phants, and  a  few  other  forms,  some  doomed  to 
extinction,  alone  remaining  to  excite  our  wonder 
at  their  colossal  proportions. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

FEATHERED    GIANTS. 

IN  studying  the  history  of  any  of  the  living  ani- 
mals, domestic  or  otherwise,  we  find  that  in 
almost  every  case  we  can  trace  their  ancestry  di- 
rectly, or  indirectly,  to  a  line  of  giants. 

In  fact,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  period  in  the 
early  history  of  our  world  when  nearly  all  animals 
were  much  larger  than  at  present.  There  were 
antelopes  as  great  as  the  largest  elephants  ;  an  elk 
upon  whose  horns  twenty  or  more  boys  and  girls 
could  have  been  carried  ;  the  elephants  were  one 
or  two  times  larger  than  they  are  now ;  the  little 
lizard,  Iguana  of  South  America,  was  represented 
by  an  enormous  creature,  the  Iguanodon,  twenty 
feet  or  more  in  length,  and  powerful  enough  to 
tear  down  large  trees;  the  lions,  tigers,  bears,  kan- 
garoos —  in  fact,  nearly  all  the  animals  —  were 
giants. 

307 


308  FEATHERED    GIANTS. 

We  should  hardly  expect  to  find  this  applying  to 
the  birds;  the  great  ostrich  and  others  seem  al- 
most giants  themselves.  Yet  within  the  days  of 
the  earliest  man  there  existed  birds  compared  to 
which  some  of  our  largest  living  friends  are  pig- 
mies. 

The  home  of  some  of  these  Feathered  Wonders 
was  in  New  Zealand,  a  land  that  has  produced 
many  strange  and  curious  creatures,  living  and  ex- 
tinct. The  first  information  concerning  the  birds 
was  obtained  from  the  natives  and  their  tales  and 
traditions.  They  told  the  Englishmen  who  ven- 
tured among  them  that  the  ancient  Maori  were 
powerful  people  and  the  earliest  owners  of  the  New 
Zealand  country.  Their  traditions  described  them 
as  great  hunters,  famous  for  their  deeds  of  prow- 
ess and  personal  bravery,  and  among  the  danger- 
ous animals  that  they  pursued  and  destroyed  for 
the  sake  of  the  wonderful  feathers,  was  a  gigantic 
bird  that  was  twice  as  high  as  the  tallest  chief,  and 
that  was  larger,  stouter,  and  stronger,  than  any 
other  animal  they  had  to  cope  with.  So  powerful 
indeed  were  the  great  birds,  that  only  the  bravest 


FEATHERED    GIANTS.  309 

men  attacked  them,  and  their  feathers  were  worn 
only  by  prominent  chiefs,  the  possession  being  a 
distinction  that  corresponds  to  the  decorations 
given  to  brave  warriors  at  the  present  day. 

Not  only  were  the  feathers  valued  by  the  an- 
cient Maori,  but  the  flesh  was  eaten,  and  the  bones 
made  into  fish-hooks,  and  weapons  of  various  kinds. 
In  the  songs  of  the  natives  the  name  of  the  Moa 
often  occurs,  and  in  fact  so  much  was  heard  of  this 
feathered  giant  that  the  naturalists  thought  possi- 
bly there  might  be  some  truth  in  it,  and  immedi- 
ately began  investigations  that  resulted  in  finding 
the  remains  of  the  great  birds. 

It  was  shown  that  about  five  hundred  years  ago 
these  birds  flourished  on  the  different  islands  in 
great  numbers,  being  finally  exterminated  by  the 
Maori,  although  there  are  some  who  believe  that 
the  great  creatures  still  live  in  the  high  mountain- 
lands  of  the  interior.  The  greater  number  of  the 
most  perfect  skeletons  were  discovered  in  caves. 
In  explanation  of  this  the  natives  said,  that  accord- 
ing to  their  traditions  the  country  was  consumed 
by  fire  from  the  volcano  of  Tongariro,  and  that  the 


310  FEATHERED    GIANTS. 

birds  being  thus  driven  to  the  caves  were  there 
imprisoned.  Many,  however,  died  a  natural  death, 
or  were  killed  by  a  change  in  the  climate. 

One  of  the  largest  deposits  was  found  in  a  swamp. 
Upon  the  peat  being  removed  many  tons  of  the 
bones  of  the  gigantic  birds  were  exposed,  and  it 
would  seem  that  here  the  unwieldy  creatures  had 
fled  to  escape  their  enemies,  either  man  or  beast. 

In  appearance  the  Moas  were  huge  impressive 
creatures,  the  largest  being  over  thirteen  feet  in 
height,  with  rudimentary  or  no  wings  ;  its  legs  ap- 
peared more  like  great  columns  for  support  than 
organs  for  locomotion,  and  the  bones  themselves 
were  larger  than  those  of  an  ox. 

Such  powerful  animals  could  not  have  submitted 
tamely  to  capture  ;  and  while  the  Maori  legends 
hint  at  the  danger  of  the  chase,  we  can  well  im- 
agine that  it  was  only  after  a  fierce  struggle  that 
the  great  game  gave  up. 

If  in  flocks,  their  very  rushing  along  would  have 
been  a  wonderful  sight,  and  few  animals  could  have 
withstood  the  charge.  The  pressure  of  the  great 
feet  would  have  killed  a  human  being,  and  if  in- 


SKELETON    OF    A    FEATHERED    GIANT,   DINORN1S    MAXIMUS. 


U\BR  A/: 

OF   THK 

TJNIVERSITY 


FEATHERED    GIANTS. 


3*3 


clined  to  strike  with  this  organ  like  our  present 
ostrich,  they  would  indeed  have  been  antagonists 
to  be  dreaded. 

In  some  localities  the  eggs  are  found,  and  in 
one  spot  a  number  of  them  were  grouped  together, 


THE    LARGEST    BIRDS'-NEST    IN    THE    WORLD. 

(Eggs  of  sEpyornis  maximus,  Madagascar.     Each  egg  equalled 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  hen's  eggs.) 

suggesting  that  perhaps  there  had  been  a  nest  of 
the  huge  creatures  and  that  from  some  cause  they 


FEATHERED    GIANTS. 


had  been  led  to  desert  it.     Single  eggs  are  often 
found  in  the  caves,  burnt  and  charred,  showing 


HUNTING    THE    GIANT    OF   THE    MAURITIUS. 

(Legnatia  gigantea,  seven  feet  high  and  wingless.     Last  seen  at 
Mascarene  Islands  in  1694.) 

that  probably  they  formed  a  part  of  the  food  of  the 
ancient  tribes. 

Although  the  Moa  eggs  are  much  larger  than 
any  known  at  the  present  day,  they  are  dwarfed  by 
the  eggs  of  a  feathered  giant  that  once  lived  on  the 
island  of  Madagascar.  Several  years  ago,  the  cap- 
tain of  a  trading  vessel  made  his  way  up  a  shallow 
river  that  found  its  way  down  to  the  sea  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  island,  and  there  fell  in 


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FEATHERED    GIANTS.  317 

with  some  native  tribes  that  rarely  mingled  with 
new-comers  or  whites.  Among  the  many  curious 
objects  noticed  by  the  captain  and  his  men  about 
the  native  village,  were  some  dishes  that  were  used 
to  hold  water  and  food  of  various  kinds.  They 
held  about  a  gallon  of  liquid,  and  were  round  at 
the  ends,  so  that  they  had  to  be  propped  up.  The 
captain  asked  why  they  did  not  make  them  with 
bottoms  so  that  they  would  stand  alone,  when  to 
his  astonishment  he  was  informed  that  the  vases 
were  not  made  by  them,  but  were  eggs.  They  were 
enormous  shells,  capable  when  perfect,  of  hold- 
ing over  two  gallons  of  water,  or,  equal  by  exact 
measurement  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  hen's  eggs. 
From  the  owners  the  captain  learned  that  the 
eggs  came  from  a  locality  not  far  distant,  and  an 
expedition  was  formed  later  that  resulted  in  the 
finding  not  only  of  the  eggs,  but  of  the  remains  of 
four  distinct  species  of  the  enormous  birds,  buried 
in  vast  sand  heaps  that  had  perhaps  blown  over 
them  and  their  nests.  Natives  were  hired,  and 
large  trenches  due:  in  various  directions  that  ex- 

o  o 

posed  many  of  the  bones. 


318  FEATHERED    GIANTS. 

4 

In  one  spot,  a  great  number  of  eggs  were  uncov- 
ered but  they  were  mostly  broken  ;  their  being 
grouped  together,  however,  pointed  to  the  belief 
that  here  was  the  nest  of  the  great  ^Epyornis, 
probably  the  largest  bird's  nest  in  the  world.  The 
sand  was  carefully  worked  away  and  the  great 
shells  exposed,  but  nearly  all  were  damaged  or 
cracked,  and  the  sand  had  drifted  into  them  mak- 
ing one  a  good  load  for  one  man.  But  the  nest 

O  O 

was  soon  robbed,  the  workmen  marching  off  with 
the  finds  upon  their  shoulders  to  deposit  them  in  a 
place  of  safety.  Perfect  ones  in  this  country  are 
extremely  rare,  and  are  valued  at  about  three  hun- 
dred dollars  apiece. 

If  the  Moas  were  considered  dangerous  to  attack, 
what  must  have  been  the  aspect  of  this  huge  crea- 
ture when  at  bay  ?  If  they  were  hunted  by  early 
man  we  can  well  imagine  that  strategy  instead  of 
open  chase  must  have  been  the  method  of  capture. 
Perhaps  pitfalls  were  dug,  and  the  great  game 
driven  into  them  where  they  were  destroyed  by  the 
rude  stone  clubs  and  spears  of  the  natives. 

The  strange  tale  of  the  Roc,  told  in  the  Arabian 


SKELETON    OF    A    FEATHERED    GIANT,    THE    PALAFTERYX 

CRASSUS. 


FEATHERED    GIANTS.  321 

Nights,  is  supposed  to  have  been  taken  from  a 
legend  of  this  gigantic  bird. 

When  the  first  discoverers  of  the  Mascarene 
Islands  investigated  that  locality,  they  found  among 
other  strange  animals  a  number  of  huge  birds  with- 
out wings,  which,  however,  were  remarkable  for 
their  power  of  running.  One  was  a  rail,  that  stood 
a  foot  higher  than  the  tallest  man,  being  over  seven 
feet  in  height.  The  bird  was  so  beautiful  and  curi- 
ous that  the  sailors  followed  it  whenever  an  oppor- 
tunity offered,  and  the  natives  finding  that  they 
could  readily  use  them  in  barter  also  began  what 
resulted  in  a  war  of  extermination.  The  poor  birds 
were  pursued  by  the  hunters  day  and  night,  hedg- 
ing them  in,  and  chasing  them  through  swamp  and 
forest  until  they  were  finally  brought  to  bay,  and 
after  a  struggle  reduced  to  subjection. 

A  few  years  of  such  incessant  hunting  greatly 
lessened  their  numbers,  and  finally  they  were  en- 
tirely destroyed,  the  last  one  having  been  observed 
in  1694,  only  one  hundred  and  ninety  years  ago, 
yet  to-day  not  a  single  bone  or  feather  remains  to 
tell  the  story  of  this  giant  among  its  kind. 


322  FEATHERED    GIANTS. 

Among  the  other  curious  birds  of  this  and  other 
islands,  was  the  giant  of  the  pigeons,  a  bird  as 
large  as  a  swan  ;  an  immense  pigeon  with  fluffy, 
curly  feathers,  but  incapable  of  flight.  When 
Mauritius  was  discovered  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
this  bird  was  common,  and  was  killed  by  the  sail- 
ors in  great  numbers ;  by  some  in  wanton  sport, 
and  by  others  for  the  curious  stones  they  found  in 
its  stomach.  It  was  so  effectually  hunted  by  all, 
that  it  soon  ceased  to  exist,  and  was  driven  liter- 
ally from  the  face  of  the  earth  The  last  living 
one  was  seen  by  the  mate  of  the  English  ship 
Berkley  Castle  in  June,  1681,  and  to-day  not  a  sin- 
gle specimen  of  the  great  bird  is  known.  A  foot 
in  the  British  Museum,  a  head  and  foot  at  Oxford, 
and  a  few  other  bones,  are  the  only  relics  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  existence  of  the  king  of  the  pig- 
eons, the  famous  Dodo. 

Many  centuries  ago  in  France  when  man  lived 
in  caves,  if  at  all,  there  lived  a  gigantic  bird  called 
the  Gastornis,  a  great  goose-like  form  that  towered 
aloft  thirteen  or  fourteen  feet,  and  was  a  most 
powerful  creature.  It  probably  lived  near  the 


FEATHERED    GIANTS.  323 

streams  in  marshy  spots,  and  depended  upon  its 
powers  of  running  to  escape  its  enemies,  as  it  had 
no  wings.  About  the  locality  where  the  city  of 
Rheims  now  stands,  the  remains  of  this  great 
wader  and  swimmer  have  been  found  in  the  caves 
mixed  in  among  the  bones  of  other  animals,  as  the 
great  mammoth  and  cave  bear,  that  are  known  to 
have  lived  during  the  time  of  man,  by  whom  they 
were  undoubtedly  hunted  and  used  as  food. 

But  these  were  not  the  greatest  of  the  giants  of 
this  olden  time.  The  largest  of  the  wingless  birds, 
as  we  have  seen,  was  the  great  Moa,  whose  plumes 
were  worn  by  the  victorious  Maori  chiefs,  but  even 
these  had  feathered  enemies  —  enormous  eagles  or 
birds  of  prey,  as  the  Harpagornis,  large  and  pow- 
erful enough  to  have  borne  the  largest  of  the  Di- 
nornis  tribe  off  through  the  air  to  its  nest.  Surely 
the  Roc,  as  it  is  pictured  by  the  old  Arabian  story- 
tellers bearing  Sinbad  away,  is  not  so  much  of  an 
exaggeration  after  all,  as  if  the  Harpagornis  could 
make  the  Moa  its  prey  it  could  easily  have  borne 
away  several  human  beings. 

Another  giant  was  a  huge  goose  called  by  the 


324  FEATHERED    GIANTS. 

naturalists  Cremiornis ;  while  others  of  less  stature 
though  gigantic  when  compared  to  their  living  rep- 
resentatives, have  left  their  remains  in  caves  and 
various  deposits,  speaking  monuments  of  their 
greatness  and  of  the  age  of  wonders  in  which 
they  lived. 


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